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OF THE 



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OF 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap. Copyright No. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 












'*m- 



«** V 







Living Issues of 
The Campaign of 1900 






ITS MEN* and ^PRINCIPLES 

COVERING EVERY PHASE OF 

THE VITAL QUESTIONS OF THE DAY; EXPANSION AND OUR 

NEW POSSESSIONS; TRUSTS AND MONOPOLIES; 

IMPERIALISM; WAR TAXES; ETC. 

INCLUDING THE 

Platforms of All Parties and Biographies 
of the Presidential Candidates 

TOGETHER WITH 

A PORTRAIT GALLERY OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES— COM- 
PRISING PHOTOTYPE AND OTHER PORTRAITS OF 
ALL FORMER PRESIDENTS AND LEADING 
STATESMEN OF OUR TIMES 

THE WHOLE FORMING A 

Complete Handbook of Political Information 
Voter's Guide and Instructor 

By LAWRENCE F. PRESCOTT 

The well-known author 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

HON. JAMES R, YOUNG 

Member of Congress and formerly Clerk of the U. S. Senate 



NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 

239 TO 243 AMERICAN STREET 
PHILADEI PH1A 



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Library of Con«r 

"'wo Co«u KtCtrtCO 

SEP 8 1900 

Copyright oatry 

SECOND COPY. 

Delivered to 

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ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1900, »V 

GEORGE W. BERTRON 

iN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON, D. J5- 






INTRODUCTION. 



(tjIThE issues of the Presidential campaign of 
'I 1900 are the most important in the history 
of our country since the great struggle of 
the Civil War. Policies and principles are being 
earnestly discussed by the whole American peo- 
ple, and questions of grave import are to be 
settled by the sovereign prerogative of our na- 
tion's electors : 

" A weapon that comes down as still 
As snowflakes fall upon the sod ; 
But executes a freeman's will, 

As lightning does the will of God ; 
And from its force nor doors nor locks 
Can shield you— 'tis the ballot-box." 

John Pierpont. 

The problems at issue possess an importance 
that rises far above the question of the candidates 
themselves. The men who are the great leaders 
of their respective parties in this campaign take 
secondary place to the principles and issues that 
will be decided at the polls. 

We have made history very rapidly in the last 
four years. Unexpectedly we have been called 
to unsheathe the sword and send forth our 



ii INTRODUCTION. 

armies. Our patriotism has had another superb 
vindication. Our flag has been carried through 
the storm of battle with a daring and intrepedity 
such as gave it glory on fields that have become 
historic. Was there ever a nation that respond- 
ed more nobly in any great crisis than ours has 
done during the present administration ? Intel- 
ligent American citizens can be trusted to defend 
our nation's honor, and advance the welfare of 
our people. 

Spain has been driven from the Western hemi- 
sphere, but our brilliant victories have left be- 
hind them questions of national policy concern- 
ing which every voter needs information that 
will guide him to a wise decision in the exercise 
of the franchise. The same may be said of 
other questions which enter into this campaign. 
To furnish just the information that every voter 
is anxious to obtain, is the object of this volume. 
A vast storehouse of truth, plain, simple and 
unvarnished, renders this a most valuable work 
for every citizen. 

It tells the story of former Presidential cam- 
paigns, political parties and statesmen. In the 
light of the past and the revelations of truth as 
here set forth, every one will be enabled to cast 
his vote intelligently and wisely upon the great 
issues of " Expansion and Our New Possessions, " 
"Trusts and Imperialism," " War Taxes," etc., 



INTRODUCTION. iii 

etc. These momentous questions are eloquently 
discussed and expounded by the great champions 
and apostles of each doctrine. 

Since the rising war cloud of 1859-60 which 
deluged our country in the blood of brothers, 
our nation has not been so agitated, divided and 
excited as it is to-day, from ocean to ocean — North, 
South, East and West — on the foregoing questions. 
These must necessarily be the great issues of this 
campaign ; and their settlement is fraught with 
consequences of the gravest character. 

Every intelligent reader will here find just the 
information most needed to help him to a wise 
and patriotic decision. 

In addition to very important statistics, furn- 
ishing the reader with a vast amount of historical 
information, this work contains full biographies 
of the leading statesmen of our country. These 
are the great leaders of political thought and 
opinion, and they are here sketched with a mas- 
terly hand. The most distinguished names now 
before the public are comprised in this list. 

Thus it will be seen that every possible feature 
which can give interest and value to a campaign 
book, appears in this grand work. It places the 
parties and their candidates side by side, and 
enables the voter to compare their respective 
merits. 




william Mckinley 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 




SENATOR M. A. HANNA 

CHAIRMAN OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE 



Hon. WILLIAM McKINLEY, 



Republican Nominee for the Presidency, 



His Life and Public Servicer 

G ELDOM in the public life of the statesmen of 
this republic has the wisdom of pertinacious, 
continuous application to one broad issue of na- 
tional policy as a road to highest preferment been 
so completely approved as in the career of Presi- 
dent William McKinley, renominated for Presi- 
dent by the Philadelphia Convention. Twice his 
conspicuous championship of protection and home 
markets for American workmen almost stampeded 
conventions to his nomination, when acceptance 
would have been violative of the high stand, and 
of personal honor, which has marked his public 
and private life. 

Quiet, dignified, modest, considerate of others, 
ever ready to postpone his own ambitions in favor 
of those of veterans of longer service, faithful to 
friends, unwavering in integrity, tactful in silencing 
opposition, but unyielding in matters of principle, 
strong in his sympathy with the toilers, unchanged 
by success, resilient in hope under defeat, of un 
1 17 



18 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

spotted private life, he has won his way to the 
top as one of the best examples of courageous, per- 
severing, vigorous manhood that the nation has 
ever produced. 

More than any other who has reached his proud 
pre-eminence, save only Abraham Lincoln, his 
touch is closest with those " plain people ' upon 
whom the martyred President relied with such 
unhesitating confidence. 

While yet a youth he marched in the ranks, a 
private soldier, and saw four years of the bloody 
struggle which made the country all free. In 
poverty he wrought to acquire his profession. 
These years of self-denial brought with them the 
self-reliance and self-control which fruited in his 
leadership on the floor of Congress at an age when 
no other American save Henry Clay had ever 
achieved similar prominence. 

He bore his part in great debates in a manner 
quiet, self-possessed and dignified. His incisive 
logic, caustic raillery at antagonists, and sarcastic 
comments on the shortcomings of his own party 
gave him a mastery in debate which won the ad- 
miration even of those who opposed him. Mr. 
McKinley's personality, like his career, is the fruit 
of a peculiarly logical and systematic character. 
Where others knew superficially he knew thor- 
oughly. 

This thoroughness and skill in handling a slen- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKLNLEY, 19 

der majority of twenty-two enabled him to pass 
that tariff bill which bears his name, which found 
less favor when enacted than it has enjoyed since 
its revision. He now stands as the embodiment 
and apostle of that principle. 

Strong Hold on the Masses. 

It is not easy always to analyze the causes of a 
popular favorite's hold upon the masses. High 
principle, personal magnetism, gallantry, boldness 
even to rashness, great skill in debate or ability as 
a platform orator — all these may in turn be cited 
as reasons why a man should be liked or respected. 
But to awake the love and warmest admiration of 
a people requires qualities which well nigh defy 
analysis. It has been Mr. McKinley's good for- 
tune to be able to offer a very large class of his 
fellow-citizens just what they seemed to need. 

He aroused and attracted their sympathies, and 
this tremendous logical fact is what brought about 
the overwhelming ground-swell which swept other 
aspirants off their feet, and landed him an easy 
winner over men of larger public service and 
greater brilliance in many of the attributes of 
statesmanship. " All things come to him who 
waits," and William McKinley's self-denial has 
received its great reward. 

Mr. McKinley has a long expectation of life if 
the longevity of his parents can be taken as an 



20 LIFE OF WIT LIAM McKINLEY. 

indication. His father. William McKinley, Sr., 
died in 1893, at the ripe age of 85, and his moth- 
er, Mrs. Nancy McKinley, died not long ago at 
Canton, the proud recipient of the filial attentions 
of her distinguished son. Mrs. Nancy McKinley' s 
father was of German birth, and her mother was 
of Scotch descent. William McKinley, Sr.'s, 
grandfather was a Scotch-Irishman, and his mother 
was an Englishwoman. Mr. McKinley, Sr., was 
born in Mercer County, Pa., but his family moved 
to New Lisbon, Columbiana County, 0., in 1809, 
where for many years he was manager of a blast 
furnace. 

It was in New Lisbon that he met his wife, 
whom he married in 1838. Two sons, David and 
James, were born there, but owing to lack of edu- 
cational facilities the father established his family 
in a little house in Niles, Trumbull County. It 
was in this house that William McKinley was born, 
February 26, 1844. It is worth remark that a 
considerable number of prominent Americans were 
natives of counties of Ohio in the near vicinity of 
Niles. 

Cuyahoga, thirty miles away, was the birthplace 
of James A. Garfield. Senator Allison, of Iowa, 
lived only thirty miles from Canton, and Senator 
Manderson, of Nebraska, lived and married only 
fifteen miles from that city. Ex-Senator Thomas 
Collier Piatt kept store at one time in Massillon, 




COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY GEO. G. ROCKWOOO, N. V 



COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT 




SENATOR HENRY CABOT LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 21 

only eight miles away, and Senator Quay's home 
at Beaver is only sixty miles off. Rutherford B. 
Hayes was a native of Delaware County, near by, 
and Senator Sherman and General William T. 
Sherman were born and reared at Lancaster, 0., 
less than a hundred miles away. 

Several of Mr. McKinley's brothers and sisters 
died in infancy. His oldest brother, David, is a 
resident of San Francisco, where he discharges the 
duty of Hawaiian Consul to the United States. 
James, the next older brother, died about 1890. 
Abner, a younger brother, is engaged in business in 
New York. William McKinley entered the village 
school in Poland, to which his family had removed 
when only five years old. He remained in the 
schools of that town until in his seventeenth year, 
when he made enough money by teaching in a 
near by district public school to pay his matricula- 
tion fees in Allegheny College. 

He remained at the college only a few weeks 
when the call to arms for the Civil War came, and 
the pale-faced, grey-eyed, earnest and patriotic 
young student flung aside his books and decided to 
shoulder a musket for the preservation of the 
Union. This step was taken only after earnest 
conference with his parents. Owing to his youth 
and physical immaturity they were loath to con- 
sent to interruption of his studies and the incident 
exposure to the hardships of campaigning. 



22 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

But the enthusiastic patriotism of the youth 
kindled like emotion in the Scotch-Irish blood of 
his parents and bore down their opposition, for 
they saw that in spite of his youth there was 
plenty of fighting stuff in him. And so his edu- 
cation in books ended, and that broader education 
of stirring events and the ways of men began. 

A Private in the Ranks. 

Young McKinley entered the Union army a 
mere stripling, without influence or powerful 
friends, with only a heart brimful of patriotism 
and love for his flag. He joined a company of 
volunteers from his own neighborhood, which, after 
the fashion of the time, took the pretentious name 
of "The Poland Guards." The company had 
already selected its officers. The captain, a youth 
named Zimmerman, was chosen because of brief 
service in a Pennsylvania militia company, in 
which he had learned the facings and a few other 
rudiments of the school of the soldier. He was 
the only man in the company who had any military 
draining whatever. 

Another young fellow named Race was first 
'lieutenant, and J. L. Botsford, second lieutenant. 
This company was mustered into the volunteer 
service at Columbus by General John C. Fremont 
in June, 1861, and was attached to the Twenty- 
thirl Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which William 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 23 

S. Rosecranz was colonel and Rutherford B. Hayes 

major. 

The regiment saw service first in General George 
B. McClell an's campaign in the Kanawha, which 
wrested West Virginia from the parent State and 
added another star to the sisterhood of States. It 
was a campaign of few battles, hard marches and 
plenty of experience in the hardships of soldier- 
ing. Of the fourteen months which McKinley 
served in the ranks he recently said : " I always 
look back with pleasure on those fourteen months 
of soldiering. They taught me a great deal. I 
was only a school-boy when I entered the ranks, 
and that vear was the formative period of my life, 
during which I learned much of men and affairs. 
I have always been glad that I entered the ser- 
vice as a private." 

Promotion came to him after Antietam. Dur- 
ing that battle he was acting commissary for his 
company, and in the heat of the fight he took 
cooked rations to the front to feed his hungry 
comrades who had been in battle line for twenty- 
four hours. The fighters fell back in squads to 
refresh themselves, and were loud in praises of 
McKinley's thoughtfulness. He obtained furlough 
a few days after the battle. 

On his way home he passed through Columbus 
and paid his respects to Governor Tod, whosurprised 
the young volunteer by presenting him with a 



24 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

second lieutenant's commission. General Hayes, 
who had been wounded at the battle, was home 
and recommended the promotion. This was Sep- 
tember 24, 1862. February 7, 1863, he was pro- 
moted to first lieutenant, and on July 25, 1864, 
captain. This latter promotion was supplemented 
by his appointment as adjutant-general of his 
brigade, and he remained upon the staff until mus- 
tered out in July, 1865. 

It was as assistant adjutant-general that he went 
through Sheridan's famous campaigns in the Shen- 
andoah Valley. While on his way to Winchester 
Sheridan found young McKinley, then only 20 
years old, rallying the panic-stricken troops at 
Cedar Creek, and at Berryville the young officer's 
horse was killed under him. " For gallant and 
meritorious services at the battle of the Opiquan, 
Cedar Creek and Fisher's Hill," reads his commis- 
sion as brevet-major, and it is signed "A. Lincoln." 

Thus William McKinley, at a time of his life 
when most young men are at school or preparing 
for professional life, had experience in over four 
years of active warfare and had contributed as 
many years of his life to active military service 
of his country as any veteran of the Civil War. 
This is one of the potent holds he has upon the 
young men of the country who have steadily held 
him in view as a paragon of youthful courage and 
patriotism. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 25 

Enters the Profession of Law. 
The war over, McKinley found himself at 22, a 
man without a profession and without means to 
live on. Military life still had many fascinations 
for him, and a commission in the regular army 
was within the reach of the influence he was now 
able to exert. That would at least provide him 
with a living, and the temptation was strong. His 
sister, Miss Anna McKinley, a woman of fine 
judgment and strong character, had already estab- 
lished herself as a school teacher in Canton, 0., 
and she proved to be the pioneer of the McKinley 
family in Stark County. It was largely due to 
her forceful arguments that the young soldier laid 
off his uniform and devoted himself to study of 

the law. 

This period of three years between the time he 
left the military service in 1865 and the day he 
received his diploma from the Law School at 
Albany, N. Y., in 1868, is one of which few facts 
are known. The man who knows all about the 
difficulties and struggles with lean purse and long 
ambition that marked those years has never taken 
any one into his confidence concerning them. He 
had the advantage of the law library of Judge 
Glidden, in whose office he was entered as law stu- 
dent. That able jurist took great interest in his 
pupil and gave him freely of his knowledge. 



26 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY 

When the young man was at last admitted to the 
bar Judge Glidden gave him his first case. 

It came about thus: McKinley had found a 
hole in the wall outside of which he stuck up Vs 
shingle as a lawyer. A fortnight passed and so 
did all clients. Then Judge Glidden handed the 
half-discouraged young attorney a bundle of papers 
with the remark : — 

"Mae, here are the papers in a case which is 
coming up to-morrow. I have to go out of town 
and you must try it." 

"I have never tried a case yet, you know, 
Judge ! " McKinley replied. 

"Well, begin on this one then," Glidden an- 
swered. McKinley began work at once, and after 
studying the case all night went to court next day 
and won the suit. Glidden called at his office a 
few days afterward and handed McKinley $25, 
which he refused to take. 

" It is too much, Judge, for one day's pay," the 
conscientious young attorney said. 

" Nonsense, Mac," said the veteran. " Don't let 
that worry you. I charged them $100 and can 
easily afford to give you a quarter of it." 

In a case which came to him soon afterward 
McKinley won one of his most substantial earlier 
triumphs. He was pitted against John Mc- 
Sweeny, one of the most brilliant lawyers at the 
Ohio bar. It was a suit for damages for malprac- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 27 

tice against a surgeon, who, it was claimed, had 
set a broken leg so unskillfully that the patient 
was made bow-legged. McSweeny brought his 
client into court, and after he had told his story 
he bared his leg to show how far it was out of 

line. 

A Shrewd Defense. 

McKinley, for the defense, demanded that the 
plaintiff bare the other leg for comparison. The 
court upheld this demand, in spite of McSweeny's 
vigorous objection. To the confusion of the plain- 
tiff and his counsel and the merriment of court 
and jury that leg was found to be the worse bowed 
of the two. His trousers had concealed his natu- 
ral deformity. 

" My client seems to have done better by this 
man than did nature itself/' said Counsellor Mc- 
Kinley, " and I move that the suit be dismissed 
with recommendation that he have his right leg 
broken paid set by the defendant in this case." The 
plaintiff was laughed out of court. Soon after this 
success Judge Belden, a leading lawyer of Canton, 
formed a partnership with the young attorney 
which lasted until the Judge's death, in 1870. 

He had already won his way so that the people 
in that year elected him Prosecuting Attorney of 
Stark County, which office he filled for several 
years. Practice now flowed in to him, and he 
speedily won repute as an excellent advocate. He 



28 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

is credited with making some of the best jury 
arguments ever heard at that bar. When elected 
to Congress he was a recognized leader of the Stark 
County bar and had one of the best general prac- 

tices at that bar. 

Another case in which he especially distinguished 
himseif was that of a number of miners prosecuted 
for riot, whom he defended in an appeal to the 
jury which is remembered to this day as a triumph 
of eloquence over hard fact. It was the first oppor- 
tunity in his career to attest his deep sympathy 
with wag >workers, and his use of it gave him a 
hold upo.i their gratitude that time has only 
strengthened. 

Apostle of Protection. 

James G. Blaine, in his " Twenty Years of Con- 
gress," wrote: "William McKinley, Jr., entered 
from the Canton district. He enlisted in an Ohio 
regiment when only IT years old and won the rank 
of Major by meritorious services. The interests 
of his constituency and his own bent of mind led 
him to the study of industrial questions, and he 
was soon recognized in the House as one of the most 
thorough statisticians, and one of the ablest de- 
fenders of the doctrine of protection." 

The Plumed Knight touched with his trenchant 
pen the very needle's eye of character which has 
placed McKinley where he stands to-day. Sympa- 
thy with the toilers brought him to the study of 




ELIHU ROOT-SECRETARY OF WAR 




SENATOR EDWARD OLIVER WOLCOTT OF COLORADO 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 29 

industrial questions, to which he gave the same 
thorough analysis and intense application that he 
gave to his law cases. In this respect he is much 
like Garfield, having given like thorough study to 
political subjects. 

It is said that Rutherford B. Hayes took occasion 
once to advise McKinley, who seemed destined for 
public preferment, to confine his political studies as 
far as possible to some particular subject, to master 
that so as to be recognized as its most learned ex- 
pounder. " There is the tariff and protection," he 
is said to have advised. " It affords just the field 
for such endeavor as I have described. In the 
near future it is likely to become one of the lead- 
ing issues upon which the voters of this nation will 
divide probably for many years." 

Won his Spurs Young. 

This conversation may have occurred, but the 
fact remains that the natural bent of McKinley's 
mind and his tendency to sympathize with the 
toilers had earlv turned his intellect toward that 
precise question. That was his theme when very 
early in his legal career he took the stump and 
discussed political questions in his own and neigh- 
boring counties, to which his reputation as an 
attractive speaker early penetrated. 

Major McKinley was only 33 years old when, 
in 1877, the people of the Canton district elected 



30 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 



him to represent them in Congress. Henry Clay 
and James G. Blaine are the most conspicuous 
statesmen who began Congressional careers at an 

early age. It was a 
Democratic House, 
and the new mem- 
ber began his ser- 
vice at the foot 
of the unimportant 



Law Revision Com- 
mittee. His first 
term passed with 
no public speech of 
note to his credit, 
but Speaker Sam- 
uel J. Randall had 
noticed the studious 
application of the 
young Ohioan and 
his shrewdness in 
committee work. 
Hence, at the outset of his second term Mc- 
Kinley was placed on the Judiciary Committee 
next to Thomas Brackett Reed. His ambition and 
mental promptings led him to prefer the Ways and 
Means Committee, but he was disappointed at that 
time. However, early in his second session debate 
on the tariff-revision bill of Fernando Wood gave 
him his chance, and he riddled that measure with 




HON. WILLIAM MCKINLEY. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 31 

a grasp of fact and merciless logic that marked 
him as one of the masters of protection knowledge. 
McKinley's Congressional prominence may be 
said to have fairly begun with the retirement of 
Garfield from the Ways and Means Committee 
after his election to the Presidency in 1880. Me- 
Kinley was appointed to the vacancy, and from 
then until he retired from Congress in 1891, after 
ten years of service that would have been contin- 
uous except for that portion of the Forty-eighth 
Congress when the Democrats unseated him, he 
remained upon that most important committee. 
His work was so strong and incisive that the 
Democrats, fearing his abilities, three times sought 
to throw him out of Congress by gerrymandering 
his district. Twice placed in districts so fixed 
that the Democratic majority seemed assured, he 
nevertheless was elected by substantial majorities. 

Gerrymandered Out. 

In 1890 an international contest was brought 
into the narrow limits of his Congressional district. 
The order had gone forth from Democratic free- 
trade headquarters that the peerless champion of 
protection must be beaten at anv cost. So his 
district was patched up until it showed a nominal 
Democratic plurality of 3,100 votes. Most men 
would have shirked such a contest and retired 
upon laurels already won 



32 LIFE OF WILLIAM McRlNLEY. 

Not so McKinley. His Scotch-Irish blood was 
up, and he threw himself into the fight with an 
impetuosity that he had never before exhibited. 
He actually carried three of the four counties of 
his district, but was beaten by a slender plurality 
of 302 votes. He had pulled down the Demo- 
cratic majority 2800 votes, and what his enemies 
sought to make his Waterloo proved to be a Mc- 
Kinley triumph and turned Republican thought 
in the country toward him as the leader of the 
greater struggle of this year. It, however, closed 
his Congressional career. 

McKinley a Worker. 
McKinley in Washington was a worker persis- 
tent, methodical and indefatigable. Not objecting 
to temperate use of stimulants, he was never found 
\n the haunts of convivial men. That side of life 
which fascinates and has destroyed the usefulness 
of many brilliant men had no fascination for him. 
His work-day was spent in committee or in the 
House, and the business of the day over, he went 
straight to his home and his invalid wife. Tom 
Murray, who for years was manager of the House 
restaurant, says that for years he watched his daily 
coming for a bowl of crackers and milk, which 
consumed, he returned to his work and wrought 
while his colleagues regaled upon terrapin and 
champagne. 




CORNELIUS N. BLISS OF NEW YORK 

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR IN PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S CABINET 




JOHN D. LONG 
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY 



LIFE OF WILLI AIM McKINLEY. 33 

And yet the hard-working, non-convivial mem- 
ber from Canton was popular with bis fellow- 
members on both sides of the House. He led a 
bare majority of twenty -two through all the perils 
of conflicting interests. He, too, found time to 
champion the Federal Elections bill, and to draw 
to its support many men from widely separated 
territory, and representing many diverse local 
interests. 

It was McKinley's Congressional record that has 
made him illustrious. Beginning at the foot of the 
ladder in committee appointment he forged steadily 
to the front. Leadership was won, not conceded. 
It was his presentment of the great tariff bill that 
crowded the House of Representatives on that 
ever-memorable May 7, 1890, when he reported it 
and opened a debate which has become historical. 
His contrast between protection and free trade, 
which closed that famous forensic utterance, paints 
at once a picture and a prophecy. 

" We have now," he said, " enjoyed twenty-nine 
years continuously of protective tariff laws — the 
longest uninterrupted period in which that policy 
has prevailed since the formation of tLa Federal 
Government — and we find ourselves at the end of 
that period in a condition of independence and 
prosperity the like of which has no parallel in the 
recorded history of the world. In all that goes to 
make a nation great and strong and independent 



34 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

we have made extraordinary strides. We have a 
surplus revenue and a spotless credit. 

" To reverse this system means to stop the pro- 
gress of this Republic. It means to turn the 
masses from ambition, courage and hope to depen- 
dence, degradation and despair. Talk about de- 
pression ! We would have it then in its fullness. 
Everything would indeed be cheap, but how costly 
when measured by the degradation that would 
ensue ! When merchandise is cheapest men are 
poorest, and the most distressing experiences of our 
country — aye, of all history — have been when every 
thing was lowest and cheapest, measured in gold, 
and everything was highest and dearest, measured 

by labor." 

Governor of Ohio. 

When Major McKinley, in 1890, lost his gerry- 
mandered district by the narrow margin of 302 
votes there was no doubt in the minds of Ohio 
Republicans as to who should and must be their 
candidate for Governor. It was no consolation 
purse that he was to race for. It was simply and 
solely that the fortune of hostile legislative control 
had placed within reach as candidate for the Chief 
Executive of the State a man of spotless honor, 
whose many services made him the most popular 
man in the Commonwealth. The room in the 
northwest corner of the State House in Columbus 
is brimful of nistory. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 50 

A Secretary of the Treasury, a Chief Justice of 
the United States and a President sat there as the 
Chief Executive of the State before being called to 
higher preferment. Nearly every man who has 
occupied the chief chair therein has been or still is 
a vital force in the political or business history of 
the nation. No other State has ever contributed 
as many Governors to the National Executive in 
chair or council. 

Governor McKinley's career of four years in the 
Executive Chair of Ohio is exemplification of the 
fact that the most interesting period of a states- 
man's public service is not necessarily that in 
which he enjoys the greatest degree of public 
prominence. That office claimed, almost monop- 
olized, his attention, and local interests were never 
in the remotest degree subordinated to wider 
political necessities. But this lessened neither the 
number nor loyalty of his friends in all parts of 

the country. 

Labor's Best Friend. 

His solicitude for the toilers was marked. His 
sympathy with the eight-hour movement was early 
manifested. He was a conspicuous champion of 
arbitration in the settlement of labor difficulties. 
These convictions appeared in his recommenda- 
tions of legislation to protect working-men in 
hazardous occupations, to secure them more con- 
siderate treatment as well as more safety in the 



56 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

pursuit of their avocations. It was upon his 
recommendation that the Ohio law was passed 
requiring that all street cars should be furnished 
with vestibules to protect the motormen and con- 
ductors from inclement weather. 

But it was along the line of arbitration — author- 
ized but not compulsory which he regarded as the 
true solution of labor troubles— that his best work 
was done. During his first term the State Board 
of Arbitration was created upon the Massachusetts 
plan, but he made its workings the subject of his 
personal supervision during all his administration. 
During the existence of the Board, twenty-eight 
strikes, some of them involving 2000 men, were 
investigated, and in fifteen cases the Board found a 
common basis upon which both parties could agree. 

No account of Governor McKinley's connection 
with labor problems would be complete without 
mention of the tireless energy he displayed in 
securing relief for the 2000 miners of the Hocking 
Valley mining district, who, early in 1895, were 
reported out of work and destitute. The news 
reached him at midnight, but by 5 A. M. on his 
own responsibility a car, loaded with provisions, 
worth $1000, was dispatched to the afflicted dis- 
trict. Appeals made subsequently to the Boards 
of Trade or Chambers of Commerce of the great 
cities of the State increased this initial benefaction 
to $32,T9G worth of clothing and provisions. 




COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY JOHN E. 

HON. D. B. HENDERSON 

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



BILBROUGH 




CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW 






LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 37 

Governor McKinley's two terms as the State's 
Executive were on the whole smooth and harmon- 
ious, but he was repeatedly called upon to solve 
perplexing problems in the relations of capital and 
labor. In 1894 the State Government received no 
fewer than fifteen calls for State troops to aid in 
enforcing the law. No such demand had been 
made since the Civil War, but Governor McKinley, 
obeying the dictates of his judgment, answered 
with such popular acceptation that even those 
labor organizations which are most radical in 
opposing any action in labor troubles on the part of 
the State militia were forced to admit the wisdom 

of his course. 

Loyal to His Word. 

No events in the history of Governor McKinley 
commended him more to the confidence and respect 
of his fellow-citizens than his honorable course in 
two national conventions of his party when, had 
he shown a momentary departure in steadfast 
loyalty in support of the men he had been 
instructed to vote for, he might have himself been 
the nominee. Since 1876 he had borne a promi- 
nent part in Republican national conventions 
lie was a member of the Committee on Resolu 
tions of the convention of 1880 when the man 
who led the Ohio delegation, pledged to the can- 
didacy of Senator John Sherman and who placed 
that veteran statesman in nomination in a speech. 



38 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY- 

that was one of the masterpieces of his public 
utterances, yet suffered the convention to nomin- 
ate himself and never raised a warning note to 
recall delegates to respect for his representative 
capacity. 

Again, in 1884 he was the chosen member of the 
Committee on Resolutions who drafted the party 
platform with such skill that a newspaper raised 
his name to its column head with the words, " Let 
the man who wrote the platform of '84 be our 
standard-bearer for 1888." 

Perhaps McKinley himself realized in 1888 that 
he then hardly measured up to the standard of tli3 
tried and true veterans in the public service whose 
names were to go before that convention. Cer- 
tainly no one could have declared such fact more 
unhesitatingly or earnestly than he did. It was 
an occasion never to be forgotten and it demon- 
strated even then that Mr. McKinley was a Presi- 
dential possibility who could afford to bide his 
time and need not crowd veterans in public favor 
out of a nomination which for him could have no 
charm unless fairly won. 

The balloting for President had reached the 
fourth call wh^n a Connecticut delegate cast bis 
vote for McKinley. As soon as the vote was 
announced McKinley rose in his seat and lifted 
his hand for recognition of the Chair. Before he 
could utter half a dozen words a great shout 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 39 

" McKinley " went up from all over the conven- 
tion. Unshaken by this evidence of popular 
esteem he said : — 

The Speech of a True Man. 

" Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Conven- 
tion : I am here as one of the chosen representa- 
tives of my State ; I am here by resolution of its 
Republican convention, passed without one dis- 
senting voice, commanding me to cast my vote for 
John Sherman and to use every worthy endeavor 
for his nomination. I accepted this trust because 
my heart and judgment were in accord with the 
letter and spirit and purpose of that resolution. 
It has pleased certain delegates to cast their votes 
for me. I am not insensible of the honor they 
would do me, but in the presence of the duty rest- 
ing upon me I cannot remain silent with honor ; I 
cannot consistently with the credit of the State 
whose credentials I bear, and which has trusted 
me; I cannot with honorable fidelity to John 
Sherman, who has trusted me in his cause and 
with his confidence ; I cannot consistently with 
my own views of my personal integrity consent, 
or seem to consent, to permit my name to be used 
as a candidate before the convention. 

" I would not restrict myself if I could find it 
in my heart to do, to say, or to permit to be done 
that which could even be ground for any one to 



40 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

suspect that I wavered in my loyalty to Ohio 01 
my devotion to the chief of her choice and the 
chief of mine. I do not request — I demand — that 
no delegates who would not cast reflection upon me 
shall cast a ballot for me." 

When McKinley, who spoke in tones whose 
earnestness and sincerity could not be doubted, 
concluded his speech his audience applauded him 
to the echo. It was so characteristic of the man 
that his name was not mentioned by any as a 

candidate. 

Declined the Prize Again. 

Four years later at Minneapolis McKinley again 
had opportunity to show that he valued honor 
above even nomination to the highest office in the 
Republic. He was the chairman of the conven- 
tion. When Ohio was reached on the first ballot 
for President the leader of the delegation announced 
its full vote for William McKinley. This was the 
signal for an outburst of applause from floor and 
gallery, as spontaneous as it was vociferous. Hur- 
ried consultations were held by many State dele- 
gations, and amid the cheers and applause which 
still continued one leader after another arose to 
the change of his State to McKinley. The Major, 
evidently deeply affected by the demonstration, 
but firm and composed, rose in his place and 
Baicl : — 

" I challenge the vote of Ohio," 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY 41 



" The gentleman is not a member of the delega- 
tion at present," said Governor Foraker, who was 
chairman of the Ohio re^esentatives. 

" I am a delegate from that State," cried 
McKinley, in tones that could be heard above the 
confusion and uproar, " and I demand that my 
vote be counted." 

" Your alternative voted for you," Governor 
Foraker persisted. 

The vote of the delegation was polled, neverthe- 
less, and the solitary vote which was cast for 
Harrison, was Major McKinley's. Harrison was 
nominated, and Chairman McKinley, calling Col- 
onel Elliott F. Shepard to the chair, moved to 
make the nomination unanimous. 

" Your turn will come in '96," shouted one of 
the 182 delegates, who, despite his protest, voted 
for him in that convention. This prophecy was 

fulfilled. 

McKinley at Home. 

Two things commend McKinley mightily to th& 
average man — he will fight and he loves his wife. 
While these at first blush seem to be virtues com- 
mon enough, yet he who has them has not far to 
go to make him a man complete. He also loves 
children with the pathetic love of the man whose 
name will live only in history, for the two children 
of his early married life are dead, and his wife is 
a confirmed invalid. 



42 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

It was early in his struggles with the law in 
Canton that William McKinley met Ida Saxton, a 
beauty, the daughter of the richest banker in the 
town, and a girl after his own heart. He has 
never got over the surprise and joy which filled 
his soul when, having made up his mind to put 
his future happiness to the touch, he asked Ida 
Saxton to be his wife and she said yes. It is said 
that her father confirmed this when along with his 
parental blessing he said : "You are the only man 
of all that have sought her that I would have 
given her to." 

It was in 1871, after he had won his first suc- 
cess at the bar and had been successful as Prose- 
cuting Attorney. They went to housekeeping in 
the same house to which he returned after his long 
service in Congress and his two terms as Governor. 
In that pleasant little villa his two children were 
born. One lived to be nearly four years old, 
while the other died in early infancy. 

It was soon after the birth of the second 
daughter that the fact became apparent that Mrs. 
McKinley would be a lifelong invalid. Much 
could be written of the tenderness of the strong 
and virile man to his invalid wife, but the idle 
gossip which has already been written upon that 
subject has hurt where it was thought to comfort. 
Newspapers have thoughtlessly dwelt upon this 
affliction, singing praises of his constancy and 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 43 

devotion when even kind words carried with them 
a penetrating sting. 

It is enough to say that this husband and wife 
have never been parted except during exigent 
work in campaigning. During his service in 
Washington she was always with him, embroider- 
ing the slippers which has constituted her princi- 
pal employment in his absence until the number 
which have solaced the sufferers in hospitals is 
said to amount to nearly four thousand. From 
Congressional duty to his wife and back to duty 
was the round of his Washington life. 

While Governor of Ohio four rooms in the 
Chittenden House in Columbus were their home. 
An early breakfast and he was off to his executive 
duties. It was remarked that he always left his 
hotel by a side entrance, and when well across the 
street he turned and lifted his hat, while a hand- 
kerchief fluttered for an instant from the window 
of his home. Then the Governor with a pleased 
smile walked jauntily off toward the State House. 
This was repeated every evening, showing that 
loving watch was kept at that window. Occasion- 
ally, weather and health permitting, Mrs. Me Kin- 
ley indulged in a carriage ride, her husband 
always accompanying her. Always on Sunday 
the Governor took an early train for Canton, and 
going to his mother's house, accompanied her to 
the firs M. E. Church, of which he has been a 



44 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

member for thirty-five years. He was superin- 
tendent of its Sunday-school until public duty 
took him to Washington. 

His Personal Appearance. 

Major McKinley is five feet seven inches in 
height and is as straight as Michael Angelo's 
statue of David. He undoubtedly looks like the 
great Napoleon, although he has said more than 
once that he does not like to be reminded of the 
resemblance. He has the same grave, dignified 
mouth, the same high, broad and full forehead and 
the same heavy lower jaw. He is a better-looking 
man than was Napoleon, and his bright, dark eyes 
shine out under brows which are less heavy than 
those of Bonaparte, and his frown is by no means 
so terrible as that of the Little Corporal. He 
appreciates, however, the value of dignity, always 
dresses in a double-breasted frock coat and crowns 
his classic head with a tall silk hat. 

Personally Major McKinley is a charming man 
to meet. His presence is prepossessing, though in 
conversation he rarely develops brilliancy or ready 
wit. Dignity and repose, rather than force and 
action, appear as his strong characteristics to the 
man who meets him casually. Yet his campaigns 
show that when time for action comes he can £0 
through labor that wears out a corps of experienced 
reporters, and come out of the immense strain of 




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JOvSHPH B. FORAKBR 




LYMAN J. GAGE-SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 45 

six weeks' constant canvass with little loss of flesh 
and comparatively few signs of fatigue. The 
Gubernatorial campaign of 1893 was notable in 
this respect, and shows the character of the man in 
his relations to politics. 

With the chances favoring him and business 
depression prevailing, many a man would have 
trusted something to luck, and worked less per- 
sistently and energetically than under other cir- 
cumstances. But that was not McKinley's way. 
He realized that his boom for the Presidency de- 
pended very largely upon the size of his majority, 
and worked like a Trojan. Those who followed 
him in the famous Congressional campaign of 1890 
against John G. Warwick, and again in 1891, when 
he canvassed the State against Campbell with such 
signal success, and were a third time with him in 
1893, say that he worked as never before. 

In the speeches he made one notable characteris- 
tic is always prominent. He does not make ene- 
mies. No one ever heard McKinley abuse a politi- 
cal opponent from the stump. Few men have ever 
heard him speak with disrespect or malignity of 
one in private life. Only among his close confi- 
dants, and they are carefully chosen and not numer- 
ous, does he allow himself to speak his mind fully. 



46 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

President McKinley's Administration. 

After a very exciting campaign in 1896, Mr. 
McKinley was elected President, and was in- 
augurated with most imposing ceremonies in March, 
1897. His administration has been characterized 
by wise and successful statesmanship, and as the 
period for a new election drew near it became 
evident that he would be again the unanimous 
choice of his party to be their standard-bearer in 
the campaign of 1900. 

An extraordinary session of Congress was called 
by President McKinley two days after he took 
the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol. It 
met in pursuance to his proclamation at noon on 
March 15. The special message transmitted by 
him to both Houses on the opening day was brief. 
It explained the deficiencies in the revenues, 
reviewed the bond issues of the last administration, 
and urged Congress promptly to correct the then 
existing condition by passing a tariff bill that 
would supply ample revenues for the support of 
the Government and the liquidation of the public 
debt. No other subject of legislation was men- 
tioned in the message, and the tariff bill was the 
all-absorbing feature of the session. The Eepub- 
lican members of the Ways and Means Committee 
of the preceding House had been at work through- 
out the short session, which ended March 4, giving 



LIFE OP WILLIAM LJcKINLEY. 47 

hearings and preparing the bill which was to be 
submitted at the extra session. 

Three days after the session opened the Tariff 
bill was reported to the House by the Ways and 
Means Committee, and thirteen days later, March 
31, 1897, it passed the House. It went to the 
Senate, was referred to the Committee on Finance, 
and the .Republican members of that committee 
spent a month and three days in its consideration 
and in preparing the amendments, which were 
submitted to the Senate May 4. Its consideration 
was begun in the Senate May 7, and exactly two 
months later, July 7, it passed the Senate with 872 
amendments. 

The bill then went to conference, where, after a 
ten days' struggle, on July 17 a complete agree- 
ment was reached by which the Senate receded 
from 118 amendments and the House from 511. 
The others, 243 in number, were compromised. 
The conference report was adopted by the House 
July 19 at the conclusion of twelve hours of con- 
tinuous debate. The report was taken up in the 
Senate July 20 and adopted Saturday, July 24. 
The Tariff bill was signed by the President the 
same day. 

Civil Service Rules. 

In August President McKinley promulgated 
amendments to the civil service rules which elicited 
enthusiastic praise from civil service reformers. 



48 LIFF OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

The order considered of most importance provides 
that " no removal shall be made from any position 
subject to competitive examination except for just 
cause and upon written charges filed with the head 
of the department or other appointing officer, and 
of which the accused shall have full notice and an 
opportunity to make defence." 

Through the Hon. Stewart L. Woodford, 
American Minister to Spain, our Cabinet at 
Washington addressed a note in September to the 
Spanish government concerning the war in Cuba, 
urging that the most strenuous efforts be made to 
bring it to an end and offering mediation between 
the contending parties. Spain's reply, which was 
received in November, was considered satisfactory 
and not likely to lead to any rupture between the 
two countries. 

In February, 1898, an incident occurred which 
created universal comment. A letter was written 
by the Spanish Minister at Washington, Senor De 
Lome, reflecting seriously upon President Mc- 
Kinley, in connection with the policy our adminis- 
tration was pursuing toward the government of 
Spain with regard to the insurrection in Cuba. 
This letter was written by De Lome to a friend, 
but failed in some way to reach its destination, and 
was made public. Public indignation was ex- 
pressed at this perfidy of the Spanish Minister, 
and lie was compelled to resign. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM MoKTNLEY. 49 

Cuba's Fight for Freedom. 

The struggle in Cuba for independence con- 
tinued to be the one absorbing topic that occupied 
the attention of Congress. General TTeyler 
ordered all the inhabitants of Cuba who were 
suspected of sympathizing with the insurgents into 
the towns, where they were left to obtain the 
necessaries of life as best they could. This act, 
which was pronounced inhuman by the American 
people, resulted in the death of tens of thousands 
of men, women and children by starvation. 
Meanwhile, accurate reports of the appalling 
situation in Cuba were brought by several mem- 
bers of Congress who visited the island with a view 
to ascertaining the exact facts. 

These reports so inflamed the Senate and House 
of Representatives that a number of resolutions 
were introduced demanding that belligerent rights 
should be granted to the Cubans, and further that 
the United States should intervene with force of 
arms to end the war in Cuba, and secure the 
independence of the island. These resolutions, 
which were referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, were indicative of the temper of Con- 
gress. 

Destruction of the "Maine." 

A profound sensation was created by the 
destruction of the United States battleship 
"Maine" in the harbor of Bavana. The 

4 



50 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

" Maine ' was lying in the harbor, having been 
sent to Cuba on a friendly visit. On the evening 
of February 15 a terrific explosion took place on 
board the ship, by which 266 sailors and officers 
lost their lives and the vessel was wrecked. The 
cause of the explosion was not apparent. The 
wounded sailors of the " Maine " were unable to 
explain it. The explosion shook the. whole city of 
Havana, and the windows were broken in many of 
the houses. The wounded sailors stated that the 
explosion took place while they were asleep, so that 
they could give no particulars as to the cause. 

The Government at Washington and the whole 
country were horrified at the destruction of one 
of our largest cruisers and the loss of so many of 
our brave sailors. The excitement throughout the 
country was intense. The chief interest in the 
" Maine ' disaster now centered upon the cause of 
the explosion that so quickly sent her to the bot- 
tom of Havana harbor. 

A Naval Board of Inquiry went to Havana and 
proceeded promptly to investigate the causes of the 
explosion that destroyed the battleship. 

Upon receiving the report of the Board of 
Inquiry, President McKinley transmitted it to 
Congress, and with it a message which he closed as 
follows : 

" In view of these facts and of these considera- 
tions I ask the Congress to authorize and empower 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 51 

the President to take measures to secure a full and 
final termination of the hostilities between the 
Government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and 
to secure in the island the establishment of a stable 
government capable of maintaining order and ob- 
serving its international obligations, ensuring peace 
and tranquility and the security of its citizens as 
well as our own, and to use the military and naval 
forces of the United States as may be necessary for 

these purposes. 

National Charity. 

" And in the interest of humanity and to aid in 
preserving the lives of the starving people of that 
island, I recommend that the distribution of food 
and supplies be continued, and that an appropria- 
tion be made out of the public treasury to supple- 
ment the charity of our citizens. 

" The issue is now with the Congress. It is a 
solemn responsibility. I have exhausted every 
effort to relieve the intolerable condition of affairs 
which is at our doors. Prepared to execute every 
obligation imposed upon me by the Constitution 
and the law, I await your action." 

Congress debated a week over the recommenda- 
tions contained in the President's message, and on 
April 18 both Houses united in passing a series of 
resolutions calling for the intervention of the 
United States to compel Spain to withdraw her 
forces from Cuba, and thus permit the authorities 



52 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

at Washington to provide the island with a free 
and independent government. The demand con- 
tained in the resolutions was sent to the Spanish 
Minister at Washington on April 20, who at once 
called for his passports and left for Canada. 

On the same date the ultimatum of our Govern- 
ment was sent to United States Minister Woodford, 
at Madrid, who was curtly handed his passports 
before he had an opportunity of formally present- 
ing the document. These transactions involved a 
virtual declaration of war, although Congress did 
not formally declare that war actually existed 
until April 25, dating the time back to the 21st 

The War Begins. 

The North Atlantic Squadron was immediately 
ordered to blockade the Cuban ports, and on April 
22 proceeded to carry out the order. On the same 
date the United States gunboat "Nashville" 
captured the Spanish merchantman " Buena 
Ventura" in the Gulf of Mexico. In this cap- 
ture the first gun of the war was fired. The next 
day President McKinley promulgated a resolution 
calling for 125,000 volunteers. On the same day 
Morro Castle, commanding the harbor of Havana, 
fired on the United States flagship " New York," 
but without doing damage. Subsequent events 
comprised the capture of a number of Spanish 
vessels by Admiral Sampson's squadron. 




STEPHEN B. ELKINS 




CHARLES DICK 

SECRETARY OF REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 



53 



Stirring news from our Asiatic fleet was soon 
received. On May 1 Admiral Dewey practically 
destroyed the Spanish squadron in the harbor of 
Manila, Philippine Islands, capturing nine vessels 
aud inflicting a loss of 400 killed and 600 
wounded. The capture of the Spanish fleet at 
Santiago, on July 3, and the victories of the 
American army in Cuba, resulting in the surrender 
of all the Spanish troops in the province of 
Santiago, prepared the way for Mr. McKinley to 
sign a peace protocol in August and a treaty of 
peace with Spain in December. With a firm 
hand he conducted the difficult and delicate 
diplomacy and pushed on the war that freed Cuba, 
brought the Philippine Islands under the authority 
and governmeDt of the United States, and restored 
peace to the combatants. 

McKinley' s Policy. 

As to his policy in view of the necessary legis- 
lation for our new possessions, and his purpose to 
govern them in such a way as to advance their 
welfare and to secure for them the largest liberty, 
he declared in an eloquent speech before the Ohio 
Society in New York that every obligation of our 
Government would be fulfilled. 

" After thirty-three years," lie said, " of un- 
broken peace came an unavoidable war. Happily, 
the conclusion was (piickly reached, without a 



54 LIFE OF "WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

suspicion of unworthy motive or practice or pur- 
pose on our part, and with fadeless honor to our 
arms. I cannot forget the quick response of the 
people to the country's need and the quarter of a 
million men who freelv offered their lives to their 
country's service. It was an impressive spectacle 
of national strength. It demonstrated our mighty 
reserve power and taught us that large standing 
armies are unnecessary when every citizen is a 
' minute man ' ready to join the ranks for national 
defence. 

" Out of these recent events have come to the 
United States grave trials and responsibilities. As 
it was the nation's war, so are its results the 
nation's problems. Its solution rests upon us all. 
It is too serious to stifle. It is too earnest for re- 
pose. No phrase or catchword can conceal the 
sacred obligation it involves. No use of epithets, 
no aspersion of motive by those who differ will 
contribute to that sober judgment so essential to 
right conclusions. 

" No political outcry can abrogate our treaty of 
peace with Spain or absolve us from its solemn en- 
gagements. It is the people's question and will be 
until its determination is written out in their en- 
lightened verdict. We must choose between manly 
doing and base desertion. It will never be the 
latter. It must be soberly settled in justice and 
good conscience, and it will be. Righteousness 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKIXLEY. 55 

which exalteth a nation must control in its solu- 
tion. 

Imperialism Denounced. 

" There can be no imperialism. Those who fear 
it are against it. Those who have faith in the 
Republic are against it. So that there is universal 
abhorrence for it and unanimous opposition to it. 
Our only difference is that those who do not agree 
with us have no confidence in the virtue or capac- 
ity or high purpose or good faith of this free 
people as a civilizing agency, while we believe that 
the century of free government which the Ameri- 
can people have enjoyed has not rendered them 
irresolute and faithless, but has fitted them for the 
great task of lifting up and assisting to better con- 
dition and larger liberty those distant people who 
have through the issue of battle become our wards. 

" Let us fear not. There is no occasion for faint 
hearts, no excuse for regrets. Xations do not 
grow in strength and the cause of liberty and law 
by the doing of easy things. The harder the task 
the greater will be the result, the benefit and the 
honor. To doubt our power to accomplish it is to 
lose faith in the soundness and strength of our 
*>opular institutions. The liberators will never be- 
come the oppressors. A self-governed people will 
never permit despotism in any government which 
they foster and defend. 

" Gentlemen, we have the new care and canno* 



56 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

shift it. And, breaking up the camp of ease 
and isolation, let us bravely and hopefully and 
soberly continue the march of faithful service and 
falter not until the work is done. It is not possible 
that seventy-five millions of American freemen 
are unable to establish liberty and justice and good 
government in our new possessions. The burden 
is our opportunity. The opportunity is greater 
than the burden. May God give us strength to 
bear the one and wisdom so to embrace the other 
as to carry to our distant acquisitions the guarantees 
of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." 

Beyond the administration of affairs connected 
with our war with Spain and the Filipino in- 
surgents, and the appointment of officials to 
govern Hawaii, Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip- 
pines, the chief measure of public importance during 
Mr. McKinley's administration was the enactment, 
at his recommendation, of the new currency law, 
whereby the gold standard has been established 
and our currency laws are made to correspond 
with those of the most enlightened nations of the 

earth. 

Demand Upon Turkey. 

A claim was made against Turkey by our 
Government for damages inflicted upon Americans 
during the massacres in Armenia. This claim 

o 

amounted to $90,000, and the Turkish govern- 
ment, with its customary dilatory tactics, evaded 



LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY, 57 

the payment of it. It was Mr. McKinley's 
determined purpose to collect the amount due for 
Turkish depreciations. Accordingly he made a 
demand for payment. A month passed and 
no notice was taken of the communication from 
our State Department. On the 23d of May, 1900, 
Mr. McKinley authorized another demand to be 
made upon Turkey, and in terms implying that 
the next communication would be an ultimatum 
conveyed by a battleship. 

These public acts indicate the heroic qualities 
Mr. McKinley has exhibited during his Adminis- 
tration. With a high purpose to serve his 
country, with consummate tact and wisdom in 
conducting public affairs, with exalted patriotism 
and a noble resolve to promote the welfare of the 
people in all parts of our broad land, he has dis- 
charged the responsible duties of his high office to 
the entire satisfaction of his party. 

President McKinley Renominated. 

The renomination of President McKinley was 
accepted as a fact and never was there a doubt 
that he would be the choice of the delegates for 
the head of the national ticket. The only subject 
of possible dissension was in the choice of his 
running mate, though all were actuated alike by 
the desire to have named the man who would 
possess and develop greatest strength in those 



58 LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

doubtful and pivoted States which turn the tide to 

success or defeat. 

In the nomination of Governor Theodore 
Roosevelt, therefore, it was generally felt that the 
Convention had performed its functions in a 
manner that augured well for the future of the 
Republican party. 

The Republicans, being in thorough sympathy 
with the President in every act of his Adminis- 
tration, having accepted the policies he has devel- 
oped during his first term in office, gave expression 
to the harmony that prevailed, not only in the 
platform they adopted, but by unanimously renomi- 
nating him for the office of President. He was 
their logical candidate, and as such is expected to 
poll the largest possible vote of the party as now 

constituted. 

Whether that party will be stronger relatively 
than in 1896 or weaker no one at this writing can 
foretell. The new issues will have to be considered 
and discussed before any one can say what effect 
they will have upon old party lines. But, what- 
ever the result of the election may be, the Repub- 
lican party in Convention assembled acted consist- 
ently in selecting as its representative candidate 
for 1900 William McKinley for President. 



Life of Hon. Theodore Roosevelt. 

^ A 7" HEN Theodore Roosevelt brought His regi- 
" * ment of Rough Riders back from their 
glorious campaign in Cuba, he was met at Mon- 
tauk Point by hundreds of men whose admira- 
tion he had won by his heroism and self- 
sacrifice. 

He greeted them as best he could, but all his 
thoughts were with the disembarking soldiers, 
whom he was so soon to bid farewell. 

" You are being boomed for Governor of New 
York," his friends said to him. "You will 
surely win." 

He seemed scarcely to hear them. He ap- 
peared to have more important business on 
hand, and was not thinking of his own political 
chances. 

" Good," he said, and then pointed to the men 
in the boats. " What do you think of the regi- 
ment?" he asked enthusiastically. 

" There are campaign buttons already out 
with your picture on them." 

''Yes ? Just look at those boys. Aren't they 
crack-a-jacks ? " 

" But how do you feel ? Do you think you 
could stand the strain of a campaign ? " 

" I feel like a bull moose. See, that's Com- 
pany K." 

69 



60 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

" Croker says that the man who will be the 
next Governor must have been wounded m 

battle." 

" Did he ? Well, I have a wound," and again 

he spoke of his soldiers. 

"Piatt wants you to run for Governor, Col- 

onei. 

Colonel Roosevelt turned wearily. "You 
must excuse me now." he said. " I must see 
that my men are comfortable. I will talk about 

other things later." 

For, to Theodore Roosevelt, the men who had 
fought under him at Las Quasima and San Juan 
hill were more important, far more important, 
than the Governorship of the State of New 

York. m t 

Welcome to "Buck" Taylor. 

When Governor Roosevelt was surrounded 
one day by Congressmen and Senators who 
were urging him to accept the nomination for 
the Vice Presidency, "Buck" Taylor, one of 
the famous marksmen of the Rough Riders, sat 
down in the anteroom and wondered whether he 
would ever get a chance to shake hands with 
his old commander. And then, through the 
open doors, Governor Roosevelt saw the waiting 
man. His eyes lighted up in welcome, he 
pushed through the group of men surrounding 
him, elbowed a Congressman out of his way, 




LESLIE M. SHAW, GOVERNOR OF IOWA 




HON. JOHN WANAMAKER 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



61 



dodged an anxious party leader and advanced 
with outstretched hand to ereet "Buck" Tavlor. 
The Vice Presidency could wait. A Rough 
Rider wanted to greet him. 

" I didn't get a chance to say much to him," 
said "Buck," afterward, "but you can tell him 
for me that Arkansas aud the West will be solid 
for him." 

"For the Vice Presidency ? " he was asked. 
He looked pityingly at his questioner. " For 
anything he wants," he said, sententiously. 

And that is the spirit of ever}' man who saw 
the gallant leader in Cuba. They scarcely 
knew him then, and yet they followed him 
through shot and shell. They know him now, 
and will follow him through any danger that 
the mind of man can invent. 

His has been a picturesque career. He has 
done enough in the forty odd years of his life 
to exhaust an ordinary man, yet when he speaks 
to you his whole body seems a mass of steel 
wires, his face lights up wonderfully, the inten- 
sest energy is spoken by every word and move- 
ment. He is almost explosive. 

It has been said that he is a rash young man. 
His political ruin has been predicted almost 
yearly. But the surprises that he is constantly 
giving his friends are not brought on by inex- 
perienced exuberances. 



62 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

He is a rapid thinker and a determined 
worker, and when he has made np his mind 
that a thing shonld be done, opposition only 
whets his appetite for the battle. 

When, as a 22-year-old Representative in the 
lower Honse of the New York Legislature, he 
started to dust political cobwebs from the rafters 
of that house with a disregard of precedence 
that seemed almost foolhardy, the other poli- 
ticians smiled, and predicted that the boy was 
rushing headlong into the jaws of defeat. But 
young Roosevelt had made up his mind that 
his constituents wanted clean politics, and he 
started in to give them what they were after. 
They sent him back to the House for another 
term and then gave him a third. 

Leader of His Party. 

During the session of 1881-82 he devoted 
much of his time to the study of parliamentary 
form and usage, and so successful was he, that 
he was made the leader of his party during the 
next session. It was in this latter session that 
he introduced and had passed the first civil 
service bill in the Legislature, almost simulta- 
neously with the introduction of a similar bill 
in the national Congress. 

As chairman of the New York delegation to 
the convention that nominated Blaine, in 1884, 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 63 

lie again went rnshing through the crowd of 
older politicians, and again came out with flying 
colors. His one defeat was in his campaign for 
the Mayoralty of New York, on the independent 
ticket in 1886. 

Three years later President Harrison 
appointed him civil service commissioner and 
his precedent smashing policy in that work 
made civil service reform an institution for the 
country to be proud of. 

Resolute for Reform. 

When, in May 1896, he accepted the presi- 
dency of the New York Police Board, he started 
in on what seemed the most foolhardy policy of 
his career. He utterly ignored the usages of 
the office. Where others had sat in their easy 
chairs while corruption flourished rank as plan- 
tain weeds, Colonel Roosevelt started on a cam- 
paign of purification that ruined dozens of cor- 
rupt politicians and left only good men in 
responsible positions. Pull and influence have 
mattered nothing to him. Honesty and fitness 
are all that he considers. 

The storm of opposition and personal abuse 
that came upon him from all sides seemed only 
to spur him on to greater energy. His ruin was 
freely predicted, but when he resigned his posi- 
tion to become assistant secretary of the Navy 



64 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

New York had a clean police force, and that is 
what he had determined to achieve. 

Wanted a Good Navy. 

The same methods that he had nsed in New 
York were carried to Washington. He 
demanded tw^o appropriations, amonnting to 
$800,000, to be expended on shot and shell for 
practice shooting in the navy. There were 
lond ontcries at this. 

" What 1 " people exclaimed. " Give $800,000 
to be thrown away on nothing? What ntter 
nonsense I" 

Yet by the time the war with Spain broke ont 
the men behind the American gnns knew which 
way to point the mnzzle when they wanted to 
hit a barn door. And, jndging from the appear- 
ance of the Spanish ships after a battle (they 
seldom went through more than one), there were 

a few hits made. 

When Theodore Roosevelt resigned his posi- 
tion in the Navy Department and went out into 
the wilds of the West to make good his claim that 
cowboys and Indians could be organized and 
drilled in thirty days into a magnificent fighting 
force, people " pooh-hooed " the idea and advised 
him to give it up. In a month the Rough 
Riders were in the East, ready to take ship for 
Cuba. 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



65 



When Theodore Roosevelt accepted the com- 
mission of lieutenant colonel and announced 
his intention of leading his regiment in person, 
his political friends held up their hands in 

horror. 

" Foolhardy ! " they exclaimed. " You will 
get out of touch with politics. You will ruin 

yourself." 

Glorious Rough Riders. 

The wires became hot with the news of the 
glorious conduct of the Rough Riders. Fight 
after fight was reported, and somehow or other 
Theodore Roosevelt always seemed to be in the 
thick of it. Even here he ignored precedence. 
When the fighting was over and his men were 
dying from fever and foul food, their colonel 
overlooked military red tape and risked court 
martial to relieve them. 

" Will he never learn common sense ?" wailed 
his friends at home. "Now he is ruined 

beyond hope." 

Yet when he walked down the gang plank at 
Montauk Point, New York was standing on the 
dock, and could scarcely wait for him to land 
before handing him the Governorship. 

Notwithstanding all his remarkable activity 
in public life, he has still found time to earn a 
name for himself in literature. His works 
include "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman," 

5 



66 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

"Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," "The 
Wilderness Hunter," "The Winning of the 
West," "The Naval War of 1812," "Life of 
Thomas H. Benton," "Lifeof Governor Morris," 
"Life and Times of Oliver Cromwell," "Essays 
on Practical Politics," " History of the City of 
New York," "American Political Ideals," "The 
Rough Riders," and, in collaboration with 
Captain A. T. Mahan, "The Imperial History 
of the British Navy," and is joint author with 
Henry Cabot Lodge of "Hero Tales from 
American History." 

Athlete and Hunter. 

As an athlete and a hunter, Colonel Roosevelt 
has won en viable distinction. What he calls 
the most thrilling moment of his life, he 
describes graphically in one of his books. It 
is an adventure with a grizzly bear. 

"I held true aiming behind the shoulder," 
he writes ; "my bullet shattered the point or 
lower end of his heart, taking out a big nick. 
Instantly the great bear turned with a harsh 
roar of fury and challenge, blowing the bloody 
foam from his mouth so that I saw the gleam 
of his white fangs ; and then he charged straight 
at me, crashing and bounding through the 
laurel bushes, so that it was hard to aim. I 
waited until he came to a fallen tree, raking 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 67 

him, as he topped it, with a ball which shattered 
his chest, and went through the cavity of his 
body, but he neither swerved nor flinched, and 
at the moment I did not know that I had struck 
him. He came steadily on, and in another 
second was almost upon me. I fired for his 
forehead, but my bullet went low, entering his 
open mouth, smashing his lower jaw and going 
into his neck. 

Thrilling Adventuie. 

"I leaped to one side, almost as I pulled the 
trigger ; and through the hanging smoke the 
first thing I saw was his paw, as he made a 
vicious side blow at me. The rush of his charge 
carried him past. As he struck he lurched for- 
ward, leaving a pool of bright blood where his 
muzzle hit the ground ; but he recovered him- 
self and made two or three onwards, while I 
hurriedly jammed a couple of cartridges into 
the magazine ; my rifle holding only four, all of 
which I had fired. Then he tried to pull up, 
but as he did so his muscles seemed suddenly 
to give way, his head dropped and he rolled 
over and over like a shot rabbit. Each of my 
first three bullets had inflicteda mortal wound." 

A Western trapper tells another story of a 
hunting adventure. "You know Colonel 
Roosevelt is very near-sighted," he says, "and 



68 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

he carries more kinds of glasses than an Eng- 
lishman ; one pair to read with, one to shoot 
with and another to walk with. When the bear 
charged ns the Colonel had on his walking 
glasses ; and when I told him that the beast was 
upon him he coolly took off these glasses, folded 
them up, put them in his pocket, took out and 
wiped his shooting glasses, and put them on as 
quietly and deliberately as if there was not a 
bear in the whole country. By the time he had 
got his glasses adjusted the bear was near, but 
he pulled up his gun and killed him in his 
tracks, and did not seem in the least bit excited." 
Many good stories are told of Colonel Roose- 
velt's care of his glasses. One of the Rough 
Riders tells this tale : " Colonel Roosevelt had 
been in the habit of wearing noseglasses with a 
black silk cord attached, but the arrangement 
was entirely unsuited to a campaign, where the 
glasses themselves would be liable to fall off 
constantly and the cord to catch on twigs. So 
he substituted very large, round spectacles with 
steel hooks for the ears, and had a dozen pairs 
mounted. These he planted around his person 
and equipment, trying to distribute them so no 
one accident could include them all. One pair 
was sewed in his blouse, another in his belt, 
another in his hat, two in his saddle bags and 
so on. 




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LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



69 



<< They've Smashed My Specs.' ' 

a At the fight at Guasimas his horse was 
barked by a bullet while held by an orderly 
and plunged frantically against a tree. Colonel 
Roosevelt came rushing up, all anxiety, and 
began prying under the saddle flap. 

'"They haven't hurt the nag, sir,' said the 

orderly. 

" 'I know,' replied the colonel, with tears m 
his voice, "but blast 'ern, they've smashed my 

specs!'" 

When Colonel Roosevelt first went and 
bought a ranch in the Bad Lands of Dakota, 
the cowboys tried to treat him as a New York 
dude, but that did not last long. After a man 
named De Mores had broken up a gang of horse 
thieves and desperadoes, and had left the coun- 
try, some of the gang made attempts to reorgan- 
ize. They were openly aided by the sheriff. 

Colonel Roosevelt called a meeting of all the 
ranchers nearby, summoned the sheriff, and, 
with his gun in his hand, called that official a 
liar and a horse thief. A tenderfoot didn't often 
get a chance to use such language twice, but 
the sheriff had to take his medicine and resign. 
On his own ranch, too, he showed the stuff 
from which he was made. He bought the most 
unmanageable cow ponies he could find in the 
country, and when his men grumbled at having 



70 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

to ride them, trie " dude" picked out the worst 
horse of the lot aud broke it. At one time he 
was thrown and four of his ribs were fractured, 
but he picked himself up, remounted and con- 
quered the beast before dressing his injuries. 

His shooting, too, won the respect of the 
rough ranchmen. Colonel Roosevelt cannot see 
ten yards in front of him without his glasses, 
and is a poor shot with a revolver, but give him 
a rifle and a long range shot and he can do some 
fancy work. Further than this, he won his 
men's admiration by putting on the gloves with 
the biggest and roughest cowpunchers on his 
ranch. 

He has summed up his philosophy of life in 

his own words. 

" If you could speak commandingly to the 
young men of our nation," he was asked on one 
occasion, " what would you say to them ? " His 
reply was : 

" I'd order them to work. I'd try to develop 
and work out an ideal of mine — the theory of 
the duty of the leisure class to the community. 
I have tried to do it by example, and it is what 
I have preached ; first and foremost, to be 
American, heart and soul, and to go in with any 
person, heedless of anything but that person's 
qualifications. 

"For myself I'd work as quick beside Pat 






LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 71 

Dugan as with the last descendant of a patroon j 
it literally makes no difference to me so long as 
the work is good and the man is in earnest." 

DETAILED ACCOUNT OF ROOSEVELT'S LIFE. 

Theodore Roosevelt, the nominee for Vice 
President, is of Dntch and Scottish ancestry, 
and among them were many notable men. He 
himself is the thirty- fourth Governor i of New 
York State. Klass Martenson Roosevelt, one 
of his ancestors, came to America from Holland 
in 1649. His son, Nicholas, was an Alderman 
of the Leislerian party, and, although a burgher 
of the " major right," he espoused the popular 
side in the contest of the colonies with the 
mother country. James I. Roosevelt, another 
ancestor, was a captain in the New York State 
Troop during the Revolution. His father, 
Theodore, married Martha, Bulloch, of Roswell, 
Ga., both of whom were descendants from Revo- 
lutionary stock of prominence. 

Thus the nomineee of the Republican party 
for Vice-President comes from a stock that has 
been noted for generations for the instincts of 
freedom, the traditions of patriotism and 
uprightness of conduct. He was born in New 
York city October 27, 1858. He was primarily 
educated at home under private teachers, and 
then entered Harvard. He was one of the 



• ■■ 



72 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

editors of the undergraduate journal, "The 
Advocate," and was prominent in athletics. 

Believes in Civil Service. 

After graduation in 1880, he spent a year in 
travel and study, and has since been a persistent 
student even under the pressure of official life, 
and at intervals an ardent traveler in both 
Europe and America. For many years he has 
been deeply interested in the purification of 
political and official life and the application of 
civil service rules to executive conduct. 

As an intimate associate and friend of George 
William Curtis, his scholastic and oratorical 
abilities brought him to the front as a prominent 
champion of civil service principles. He served 
as Assemblyman in the New York Legislature 
during the years 1882-83 and '84. Mr. Roose- 
velt introduced the first civil service bill in the 
Legislature, and it was passed in 1883, almost 
simultaneously with the passage of a similar 
measure in the National Congress at Washing- 
ton. He was Chairman of the New York 
delegation to the National Republican Conven- 
tion in 1884, but, although his name was already 
well known, his personalty did not impress 
itself very forcibly on the Convention. His 
speech was sharply criticised, and some of the 
great leaders openly made fun of him. 






LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 73 

Nominated for Mayor of New York. 

Roosevelt was nominated as the independent 
candidate for mayor of New York city in 1886, 
and, although endorsed by the Republican 
part}', was defeated at the election. In May, 
1889, President Harrison appointed him Civil 
Service Commissioner, and he served as Presi- 
dent of the Board until May, 1895. During his 
incumbency he was untiring in his endeavors 
to apply the civil service principles of merit and 
capacity to all executive departments, with the 
aggregate result that instead of 14,000 employes, 
as when he began, 40,000 filled their positions 
under its rules, largely through the permissive 
clause of the Civil Service act. 

This position of Mr. Roosevelt as President 
of the Civil Service Commission made his name 
familiar in all parts of the country, and his 
reputation for rigid honesty of purpose and fear- 
lessness of character was firmly established. 

President of New York Police Commission. 

Legislative investigation having disclosed the 
appalling corruption which existed throughout 
the New York city police, Air. Roosevelt was 
naturally looked upon as the one man who could 
thoroughly purge the city and restore the 
morale of the service. The appointment of 
Police Commissioner was, therefore, offered him 



74 Life of Theodore Roosevelt. 

in May, 1895, and he promptly resigned his 
position as Civil Service Commissioner to accept 

this post. 

He immediately began the reorganization of 
the police system with characteristic vigor. The 
The prominent features of his administration 
were impartial and relentless enforcement of the 
laws and ordinances, and insistence on rigid 
honesty and fearlessness in the discharge of the 
duties of the police and a rigorous application 
of civil service principles in appointments to 
and promotions on the force. 

Such drastic changes from previous practice 
in the department raised violent opposition 
among the base and unthinking classes, which 
only served to incline Roosevelt's purpose more 
strongly towards the enforcement of the law 
and equity. Heretofore it had been considered 
thnt an effectual and impartial enforcement of 
excise law was a moral and a physical impossi- 
bility. In a short time he proved that univer- 
sal Sunday closing of saloons was a fact, and a 
quiet and respectable American Sabbath possi- 
ble. 

What He Did for Our Navy. 

Shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish- 
American War Roosevelt was tendered the 
office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy by 
President McKinley. He accepted promptly, 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



'5 



and entered on his new duties with his usual 
energy and enthusiasm. He worked night and 
day, and to him more than other man, probably, 
was due the splendid condition of the United 
States navy when the war with Spain began. 

He had only been in ofhce a short time when 
he asked for an appropriation of $800,000 for 
" practical target" shooting in the navy, and a 
few months later requested another appropria- 
tion of $500,000 for the same purpose. This 
was considered reckless extravagance, and he 
was asked what became of the ammunition 
which was purchased with the $800,000. He 
cooly replied that it was all shot away, and he 
thought it might be that he would do the same 
with that bought with the $500,000 if ;t were 
given him. The amount was appropriated, and 
the subsequent results at Manila and Santiago 
justified Roosevelt's action, and completely 
silenced the talk of reckless extravagance. 

It was at Roosevelt's suggestion, so it is 
authoritatively stated, that Commodore George 
Dewey was placed in charge of the Asiatic 
Squadron and furnished with additional ammu- 
nition. 

Leader of Cowboys. 

When the war with Spain broke out, in 1898, 
Roosevelt resigned his position as Assistant 
Secretary of the Navy to enter the army. He 



7(5 FIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

began the formation of a volunteer cavalry regi- 
ment. The recruits for this were chiefly West- 
ernt cowboys and hunters, chosen for their 
courage and endurance, and were called the 
Rough Riders. But they were also joined by 
men from every part of the country, who rep- 
resented many nationalities and every social 

grade. 

He was moved to organize this particular 
form of regiment from the fact that years before 
while in the West on his hunting expeditions 
he formed the acquaintance of numbers of cow- 
boys, to whom he became speedily endeared on 
account of his devotion to sport, his skill with 
the rifle, his fine horsemanship and his 
thoroughly democratic manners. 

Hero of San Juan. 

He had been a member of the Eighth Regi- 
ment, New York National Guards, from 1884 
until 1888, and for a time had served as captain, 
thus gaining experience in military matters. 
The Rough Riders was commanded by Colonel 
Leonard Wood, of the regular army, and a close 
friend of Roosevelt. The latter was made 
Lieutenant Colonel, and, on June 15, 1898, a 
part of the croops embarked from Tampa with 
the advance guard of Shafter's invading army. 

The Rough Riders took part in all the 




HOTEL WALTON 

BROAD AND LOCUST STREETS, PHILADELPHIA, HEADQUARTERS OF THE 
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE 




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LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



77 



engagements preceding the fall of Santiago, and 
at the battle of San Juan, on Jnly i. Colonel 
Roosevelt distingnished himself by leading the 
desperate charge of the Ninth Regiment and 
the Rongh Riders np San Jnan Hill. Known 
before for his energy, sterling honests and capa- 
bility, and deeply respected therefor, Lientenant 
Colonel Roosevelt, by this magnificent charge 
against the Spanish forces, became one of the 
idolized heroes of the conntry. 

This was strengthened by his snbseqnent 
acts in Cnba. Every hardship experienced by 
the privates was shared by him, and, to make 
the Government realize the danger to which 
Shafter's army was exposed, he broke official 
rnle, sending a vigorons personal complaint to 
the Secretary of War, and initiating a " ronnd 
robin," signed by various officers, the result 
being that the army was recalled. This viola- 
tion of official rnles deeply angered some of 
those in power at Washington, and there was 
talk of visiting displeasure on his head. 

But Roosevelt was by this time in such high 
favor with the whole people that nothing was 
done, beyond the publication of a letter by Sec- 
retary of War Alger reflecting on Roosevelt, 
which was received with general denunciation, 
and Roosevelt was, instead, commissioned Colo- 
nel on July II. 



^8 LIFE OE THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

Governor of New York. 
Colonel Roosevelt was nominated as Governor 
of New York State on September 27, 1898, receiv- 
ing 753 votes > as a £ ainst 2I 4 cast for Governor 
Frank S. Black. His Democratic opponent was 
Jndge Angnstns Van Wyck. Colonel Roosevelt 
entered into the campaign with characteristic 
enthusiasm, and visited nearly every part of 
the State. He drew to his support the majority 
of the Independent Republicans and many of 
the Democrats, and carried New York State by 
a plurality of 18,079. 

He brought to the new position the same force 
and personality that he had displayed in every- 
thing he had previously undertaken. Although 
classed in some particulars as an Independent 
Republican, he did not totally ignore the machine. 
Nor did he invariably follow its advice. He 
consulted all factions and followed what seemed 
to bint to be the best course for the State. He 
maintained his reputation for independence, yet 
held the respect of the greater part of the 
machine managers. 

A Writer and Lover of Sports. 

Like many other men born to wealth and 
social prominence, Governor Roosevelt might 
have readily lapsed into habits of indolence, 
but, coming of a race whose mental and physical 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



79 



endurance is seemingly inexhaustible, he is 
incessantly industrious. He owns a ranch on 
the Little Missouri River, in North Dakota, 
and has a personal acquaintance with life on the 
plains and in the wilderness. As a daring- 
hunter of big game he is a conspicuous figure 
among American sportsmen, and the trophies 
of the chase that adorn his home at Sagamore 
Hill, near Oyster Bay, L. L, testify to the skill 
with which he handles a rifle. He organized 
the Boone and Crocket Club, and for a long- 
time was its president. 

The most important of his published works 
are the four volumes bearing the collective title, 
"The Winning of the West." These have for 
their subject the acquisition by the United 
States of the territory west of the Allegheny 
Mountains, and in their intrinsic merit and 
their importance as contributions to history, 
they rank with the works of Parkman. The 
" Rough Riders " is a work which will take its 
place among the authoritative works on the 
Spanish American war. 

Governor Roosevelt is also known as a suc- 
cessful and a captivating lecturer. He is a 
member of the Reformed (Dutch) Church, with 
which his family has been connected for gener- 
ations. He holds membership in many clubs, 
both social and political. He is a trustee of the 



80 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEYFLT. 

American Museum of Natural History in New 
York and is a member of the State Charities 
Aid Association. Columbia University awarded 
him tbe degree of LL. D. in 1889. 

He was married when a very young man to 
Vlice Lee, of Boston, who died two years later, 
leaving a daughter. He was married again 
in 1886 to Edith Kermit Carrow, of New York. 
They have six children, four of whom are 

SOUS 

Senator Depew Eulogizes Roosevelt. 

\fter the Rough Rider had been nominated 
in "the convention, Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, of 
New York, was called to the platform to second 
the nomination. His speech made a great hit 
and was received with alternate cheers and 

laughter. He said : 

"Gentlemen of the Convention: Permit me 

to state to you at the outset that I am not upon 
the programme, but I will gladly perform the 
pleasant dutv of announcing that New \ ork 
came here, as did every other delegation for 
Colonel Roosevelt for Vice President of the 
United States. (Applause.) 

"When Colonel Roosevelt expressed to us 
his wish that he should not be considered we 
respected it, and we proposed to place in nomi- 
nation, by our unanimous vote, our Lieutenant 
Governor, the Hon. Timothy L. Woodruff. 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



81 



Now that the Colonel has responded to the 
call of the Convention and the demand of the 
people. New York withdraws Mr. Woodruff, 

and puts Roosevelt in nomination. I had the 
pleasure of nominating him two years ago for 
Governor, when all the signs pointed to the loss 
of Xew York in the election ; but he charged 
up and down the old State, from Montauk Point 
to Niagara Falls, as he went up San Juan Hill 
(applause), and the Democrats fled before him 
as the Spaniards did in Cuba. (Applause.) It 
is a peculiarity of American life that our men 
are not born to anything, but they get there 
afterward. 

McKinley, a young soldier, and coming out 
a major ; McKinley a Congressman, and making 
a tariff ; McKinley a President elected because 
he represented the protection of American 
industries, and McKinley, after four vears 
development in peace, in war, in prosperity and 
in adversity, the greatest President, save one or 
two, that this country ever had, is the greatest 
ruler in Christennom to-day. (Applause.) 

" We Call Him Teddy." 

So with Roosevelt — we call him Teddy. 

(Applause.) He was the child of New York, of 

New York city, the place that 3-01111 g gentlemen 

from the West think means "coupons," clubs 
6 



82 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

and eternal damnation for everyone. Teddy is 
this child of Fifth avenne. He was the child 
of the clnbs ; he was the child of the exclusive- 
ness of Harvard College, and he went West 
and became a cowboy (applanse and laughter), 
and then he went into the Navy Department 
and became an assistant secretary. He gave 
an order, and the old chiefs of bnreans came to 
him and said : " Why, Colonel, there is no 
authority and no requisition to burn this 
powder." 

"Well," said the Colonel, "we have got to 
get ready when war comes, and powder must be 
manufactured to be burned (applause). And 
the burning of that powder sunk Cervera's fleet 
outside of Santiago's harbor, and the fleet in 
Manilla Bay." (Applause.) 

Rushed Up Vne Hill. 

At Santiago a modest voice was heard ex- 
ceedingly polite, addressing a militia regiment, 
lying on the ground, while the Spanish bullets 
were flyiug over them. This voice said : " Get 
one side gentlemen, please, one side, gentlemen, 
please, that my men can get out." And when this 
polite man got his men out in the open where 
they could face the bayonet and face the bullets 
there was a transformation, and the transforma- 
tion was that the dude had become a cowboy, 






LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 



83 



the cowboy liad become a soldier, the soldier 
liad become a hero, and, rushing up the hill, 
pistol in hand (great applause), the polite man 
shouted to the militiamen lying down : "Give 
them hell, boys. Give them hell." (Applause.) 
Allusion has been made by one of the speak- 
ers to the fact that the Democratic convention 
is to meet on the 4th of July. Great Scott. 
The 4th of July (laughter). On the 4th of 
July all the great heroes of the Revolution, all 
the great heroes of the War of 181 2, all the 
great heroes of Mexico, and the heroes of the 
war with Spain who are not dead, will be in pro- 
cession all over the country, those mighty 
spirits, but they will not be at the Democratic 
convention at Kansas City. 

Our Grand Record. 

" Now, my friends, this canvass we are enter- 
ing upon is a canvass of the future ; the party 
is to go on record and for reference, and, thank 
God ! we have a reference and a record. 
What is the tendency of the future ? Why 
this war in South Africa ? Why this hammer- 
ing at the gates of Pekin ? Why this marching 
of troops from Asia to Africa ? Why these 
parades of people from other empires and other 
lands ? It is because the surplus production of 
the civilized countries of modern times are 



84 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

greater than civilization can consume. It is 
because this overproduction goes back to stag- 
nation and to poverty. 

The American people now produce two thous- 
and millions dollars' worth more than we can 
consume, and we have not the emergency, and, 
by the Providence of God, by the statesmanship 
of William McKinley, and by the valor of 
Roosevelt and his associates (applause) we have 
our market in Cuba, we have our market in 
Porto Rico, we have our market in Hawaii, we 
have market in the Philippines, and we stand 
in the presence of eight hundred millions of 
people with the Pacific as an American lake, and 
the American artisan producing better and 
cheaper goods than any country in the world, 
and, my friends, we go to American labor, and 
to the American farm, and say that, with 
McKinley for another four years, there is no 
congestion for America. 

Labor Employed. 

Let invention proceed, let production go on, 
let the mountains bring forth their treasures, 
let the factories do their best, let labor be 
employed at the highest wages, because the 
world wide is ours, and we have conquered it 
by Republican principles and by Republican 
persistency in the principles of American 




CHARLES EMORY SMITH 

POSTMASTER GENERAL 




WILLIAM B. ALLISON 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



85 



industry and America for Americans. (Ap- 
plause,) 

You and I, my friends — you from New Eng- 
land, with all its culture and its coldness 
(laughter), and you from the Middle West, 
who, starting from Ohio and radiating in every 
direction, think you are all there is of it 
(laughter), you from the West, who produced 
on this platform a product of New England 
transformed to the West throngh New York) 
that delivered the best presiding officer's speech 
in oratory and all that makes up a great speech, 
that has been heard in many a day in any con- 
vention in this country. (Applause and cries 
of "Good! Good!") 

It was a glorious thing to see the fervor of 
the West and the culture and polish of New 
England giving us an ammunition wagon from 
which the spellbinder everywhere can draw the 
powder to shoot down opposition East and West 
and North and South. 



World-Power for Peace. 

Many of you I met in convention four years 
ago. We all feel what little men we were then 
compared with what we are to-day. There is 
not a man here that does not feel 400 per cent, 
bigger in 1900 than he did in 1896, bigger 
intellectually, bigger hopefully, bigger patriot- 



86 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

ically, bigger in the breast from the fact that he 
is a citizen of a country that has become a 
world-power for peace, for civilization, and for 
1 the expansion of its industries and the products 
of its labor. 

We have the best ticket ever presented. 
(Applause.) We have at the head of it a 
Western man with Eastern notions, and we 
have at the other nd ean Eastern man with 
Western character (loud applause.) The states- 
man and the cowboy. The accomplished man 
of affairs and the heroic fighter. The man who 
has proved great as President, and the fighter 
who has proved great as Governor. (Applause.) 
We leave this old town simply to keep on 
shouting and working to make it unanimous 
for McKinley and for Roosevelt. 

Personal Characteristics. 

Governor Roosevelt was the busiest man in 
Philadelphia during his short stay there at the 
Convention. His appartments at the Walton 
were crowded with visitors from morning till 
night. He is a very accessible man under ordi- 
nary circumstances. He is thoroughly demo- 
cratic. But when a hundred men were clamor- 
ing for admittance at once it was a physical 
impossibility to see them all. 

Gaining admittance to his anteroom was easy. 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 87 

You simply sent your card upstairs and were 

ushered into the crowd that was waiting there. 

You could stay there all day if you wanted to. 

Nobody interfered with you. A box of cigars 

was always on the table, and all you had to do 

was light one, sit in an easy chair if you could 

find one empty, and wait. An hour of this 

waiting showed you more of the personal side 

of the Governor than you could get in any other 

way. 

A Man of Great Energy. 

There is one impression that he leaves upon 
the mind of everyone — explosive energy. When 
he is dismissing a visitor he is all cheerfulness 
and smiles and he pats his guest's shoulder 
affectionately, and with a hearty laugh and 
another shake of the hand, turns to greet the 
next comer. He never seems bored. His last 
visitor is greeted as explosively and just as 
heartily as was the first, 

When you are introduced to him his eyes 
contract a little sternly as he fixes you with 
them for a moment, then his face relaxes into 
a broad smile that shows every one of his 
white, even teeth, and the first thing you know 
your fingers are almost crushed in his grasp 
and your arm is almost shaken loose while 
his words come as though they were shot 
out. 



88 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

" Delighted, I'm sure. Delighted. How do 

you do ? 

It is a formula he uses with little varia- 
tion yet it does not seem a formula at all. He 
seems to mean every word of it in every case. 
In conversation he is all earnestness and is 
direct almost to fierceness. His voice is some- 
what harsh yet there is always a tone of hearty 
cheerfulness in it that relieves it from un- 
pleasantness. 

Emphatic Gestures. 

To look at his back as he stands talking to 
any one, you discover nothing notable until he 
begins to emphasize a point. Then his head 
darts straight forward three or four inches in 
a way that cannot be adequately described, 
his big shoulders raise and he begins to 
pound one fist into the palm of the other 

hand. 

A front view of this emphasis reveals other 
peculiarities. The muscles of his face seem to 
be working continuously while he is talking. 
First he will contract his eyebrows into a frown, 
then he will draw back his lips until his teeth, 
fiercely set on edge, are revealed. This is one 
of the most peculiar of his several peculiarities. 
His lips are constantly being curled and drawn 
back and his teeth shown. 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



89 



While he is talking to you you cannot get 
away from his eyes. Behind his thick glasses 
they blaze, small, flashing, fascinating. There 
is no fear in them, no hesitation or doubt. They 
reveal the man who has made up his mind that 
he is right and is going ahead. His hand is 
constantly on your shoulder. It is not gushing 
affection. It is simply a superabundance of 
nervous energy. 

In Constant Motion. 

Some part of his body is constantly moving. 
He cannot keep still. If he is talking to two 
men he will pat first one and then the other on 
the back, his tone will grow more earnest, and 
when he comes to the point he will take both 
men by the shoulder, draw them close to him 
confidentially, shoot his head forward, bare his 
teeth and then his words explode one after the 
other, sharply, tersely, almost hammer-like. He 
is a bunch of steel wire, a trip-hammer that is 
constantly pouuding. Colonel Roosevelt's body 
is stocky. His broad shoulders are rounded 
just enough to give an impression of thick, 
corded muscles. He cannot be much over 5 
feet 5 inches in height, yet he is impressive 
He is a man that one would not overlook in a 
crowd- Even a back view somehow speaks of 
energy, of forcefulness, of earnestness. 



90 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

Though it is said that he is impulsive and 
lacks somewhat in self-control, and though 
one's first impression is that this is so, yet one 
soon begins to feel that no careless word escapes 
him-that what he says will not be regrett ,1 
afterward. 

Knows When to be Silent. 
During a lull in the rush of visitors to his 
room, he walked out and joined a few that 
remained. They were almost all personal 
friends, but one or two were correspondents oi 
newspapers. Colonel Roosevelt began talking 
of an interview he had had with Senator Piatt. 
The interview had appeared in the news- 

Pa »Tt S was all very well the way they had 
printed it," he said loud enough for his voice to 
fill the room, "but there is another side to the 
story that would look interesting in print You 
see, it was this way." 

He glanced around the room and his eyes 
met those of one of the correspondents. He 
stopped short and smiled. "Oh, well, never 

mind," he said. 

He knew that every word he spoke would be 
sent hot over the wires, and that the next day 
the whole country would read the "other side 
to the Piatt interview. 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 91 

A Full Grown Man. 

Roosevelt's name appeals to the imagination 
and the hero-worshipping spirit, and will draw 
to the ticket the support of those who love a 
fighter and a man who does things. And Roose- 
velt is not merely a rough rider, a dashing 
trooper, a breezy cowboy jingling his spurs and 
joyously risking his neck wherever he can find 
something perilous to be done. 

He is a man of serious affairs in public and 
private life, and has shown remarkable capacity 
for doing well the work of a public servant in 
important stations. He has not only the admir- 
ation of the crowd, but the confidence of 
thoughtful men of business, and he is known to 
be as honest and sincere as he is strenuous and 
courageous. No other candidate for the second 
place on the ticket could have given it the sup- 
plemental strength that is imparted to it by the 
name of New York's rough riding governor. 

His Immense Popularity. 

Governor Roosevelt's entrance into the audi- 
torium of the Convention was always the scene 
of the wildest enthusiasm. Once he attempted 
to conceal himself by removing his famous 
black slouch hat and carrying it in his hand ; 
but at last a voice yelled "Roosevelt! Roose- 
velt !" and with a dash becoming the hero of 



92 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

El Caney, lie made a rush for his seat, well to 

the front of the hall. 

When he was nominated crowds pushed 
toward him and an army of hands were out- 
stretched to congratulate him. The hall was 
Roosevelt mad. Only his presence was needed 
to urge the throng to yell and yell for the 
famous Rough Rider. As he sprinted down 
the aisle men ran after him, and seemed satisfied 
just to touch his coat-tails. The great audience 
rose en masse and gave him a greeting he could 
not ignore. He turned to the right and left 
and bowed, only to increase the enthusiasm, 
which was intense. Assuming his seat, he was 
at once surrounded by a howling crowd. 

Senator Sewell, of New Jersey, was one of the 
first of the noted men in the hall at the time to 
rush toward the Rough Rider. 

"Roosevelt," he said, "I knew this would 
come around. I am one of your happiest friends. 
Please accept my heart's best wishes." 

" Senator," came the swift reply, "I stood out 
as long as I could. I had to fall into line, and 

here I am." 

Before he had finished the sentence he espied 
a colored delegate in the crowd about him, and, 
pushing his hand through the crowd he said : 
" Hello, John! I know you told me so. Well, 
the fact is, I couldn't help it." 




ROBERT T. LINCOLN 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 93 

'Hurrah for Roosevelt!" came a woman's 
voice in the gallery. It was taken up all over 
the hall, and for fully a minute every mortal 
there was upon his feet yelling for Roosevelt 
and Roosevelt seemed the least pleased of the 
admiring throng. 

After several outbursts of applause he held 
an impromptu reception at the New York head- 
quarters, and everybody that could get within 
reach of him caught his hand and gave it a 
hearty, warm squeeze. 

Concerning Governor Roosevelt's nomination 
for the Vice-Presidency one of our large journals 
said : 

The many who followed the reports and edi- 
torial discussions of the progress of the Repub- 
lican National Convention, were fully prepared 
for the inevitable culmination that was reached 
in the Convention by the nomination of Gov- 
ernor Roosevelt for Vice-President, not merely 
by every vote excepting his own, but with a 
yell worthy of the Texas rough riders who 
battled with him at San Juan." 

There was but one way out of the compli- 
cation on the Vice Presidency. The convention 
wanted Roosevelt ; the administration leaders 
would not make a choice, but the strong ele- 
ments-centering in New York and Pennsylvania 
which were not in the closest sympathy with 



94 LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

Chairman Harma, saw their opportunity and 
there never was an hour when the Convention 
was in session that Roosevelt couldn't have 
beeen stampeded through the convention for Vice 
President, regardless of all the safeguards taken 
to prevent it. His nomination was an apparent 
rather than a real triumph overHanna, who had 
the good sense, when he saw that the Conven- 
tion was overwhelmingly and determinedly for 
Roosevelt, to accept the situation gracefully and 
bow to the convention rather than to those who 
were in conflict with him. 

The Strongest Candidate. 
» Roosevelt's name calls out a larger measure 
of enthusiasm than that of any of the other 
prominent Republicans of the country, and he 
will probably be the strongest candidate for 
Vice-President that the Republicans could have 
chosen There will be harsh criticisms of his 
military career and of his civil administration, 
both municipal and State, but "Teddy the 
Rough Rider," will always be a hero with the 
people no matter what may be said or even 
proved against him at this late day m a political 
campaign, and State and municipal records will 
likely be lost sight of in the overshadowing 
national issues which will decide the national 
battle of this year." 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 



95 



Another influential journal endorsed Governor 
Roosevelt in the following statement : 

' Theodore Roosevelt was nominated the can- 
didate of the Republican party for Vice-President 
of the United States. One of the significant 
facts of this nomination is that it was not only 
unsought, but undesired, by its recipient. 
Indeed, there have been in the history of 
American politics few, if any, such striking 
instances as this of the ofhce determinedly 
pursuing the man and the man as resolutely 
avoiding the office. The honor of being named 
for the second highest place in the gift of the 
nation was literally thrust upon Governor 
Roosevelt. 



Nominated by the People. 

"The nomination was forced upon the leaders, 
and would have been made without the support 
of those leaders who were favorable to it. Gov- 
ernor Roosevelt's nomination was forced by the 
irresistible will and power of his countrymen. 
It was their recognition of those real qualities 
of strenuous American manhood, of the heroic 
endeavor and achievement, of the moral courage 
and intellectual virility, of the high public spirit 
and patriotic purposes which they believe the 
candidate represents in his character, and that 
he has proclaimed in his sayings and doings, 



96 



LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 



which caused popular sentiment to demand his 
nomination for the Vice-Presidency. _ _ 

"The honor thus thrust upon the recipient 
was enhanced by the fact that many of those 
who demanded that the convention should make 
Mr. Roosevelt the Republican candidate for 
Vice-President, dissent from some of his politi- 
cal opinions and policies. Although disapprov- 
ing them, his countrymen recognize that his 
views are honestly, sincerely entertained by 
him ; that his character imparts to them the 
dignity and strength of convictions, and that 
they are based on the bedrock of persona, 
integrity and fidelity to high ideas of public 
policy and duty. 

Every Inch a Man. 
"They similarly recognize the manly vigor of 
the Americanism of the candidate of their 
choice ; they perceive in him, or believe they 
do, a man set apart from the ordinary politican; 
a nobler, abler, more patriotic and heroic figure 
in the political life of this generation than the 
hosts of sordid partisans who assume to be 
leaders in the councils and captains m the 
camps of the two great parties. His nomination 
is the testimony of the people to their confident 
faith in his worth as a citizen of the great 
Repubic." 



Republican National Convention 

of 1900. 

^HE Convention began its sessions, Jnne 
* 19th, in Philadelphia. On the evening of 
the 1 8th there was a brilliant parade of 30,000 
Republicans, comprising the Allied Clubs of 
Philadelphia, and various Republican organiza- 
tions from near and distant cities, that had 
arrived to attend the Convention. The route of 
the parade was made brilliant by colored lights, 
waving flags and bands playing patriotic music. 

On Tuesday, the 19th, Convention Hall took 
on an animated appearance about 11 o'clock, 
when the seats surrounding the enclosure 
reserved for the delegates began to fill up. The 
delegates began arriving early, those from the 
Western and Southern States being the first to 
put in an appearance. A notable feature in the 
gathering of the delegates was the very orderly 
way in which the majority found their seats. 

Governor Roosevelt, Senator Depew, and 
National Chairman Hanna walked down the 
central aisle just at the noon hour, and were by 
far the leading characters of the gathering celeb- 
rities. Cheer after cheer rolled out over the 

great hall for Roosevelt, who found his chair 
7 97 



98 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

close by Senator Piatt. Mr. Depew stood aside 
to allow Hanna to pass, and then took his place 
with the New Yorkers, sitting down with Roose- 
velt and Senator Brackitt, of Saratoga. 

Everbody in the hall rose en mass to greet 
the Rough Rider. The arrival of Governor 
Roosevelt was the occasion of the first lively 
scene in the hall. Instantly the Governor was 
recognized and a cheer went np which con- 
tinned until the Rough Rider reached his seat. 
People stood on chairs and everybody craned 
their necks to catch a glimpse of the man who 
was believed to be the choice of the Con- 
vention for Vice-President. 

The twelfth National Republican Convention 
may be said to have formally opened at 25 
minutes to 1 o'clock, when Sergeant-at-Arais 
Wiswell signalled to the leader of the band to 
play " America." When the first notes of the 
selection were heard the entire audience arose 
and stood standing until the end of the music. 
Three raps from the Sergeant-at- Arms' gavel 
called the Convention to order, and immediately 
National Chairman Marcus A. Hanna stepped 
to the centre of the platform, who, after a 
cheer for him had been given spontaneously, 
announced that the Convention was called to 
order. Chairman Hanna then introduced the 
the Rev. Dr. J. Gray Bolton, pastor of the 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 99 

Hope Presbyterian Church, West Philadelphia, 
as the chaplain of the Convention. Dr. Bolton 
offered the following prayer : 

'OThou who art a spirit infinite, eternal, 
unchangeable in Thy being, wisdom, power, 
holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Thou 
art the sovereign God, the Creator, Ruler, Dis- 
poser of us and all that Thou hast made. Thy 
thoughts are not our thoughts, nor Thy ways 
our ways. Thy mercy is not limited to persons 
and to races, but comprehendeth all that live 
and breathe. 

"Bless Thy name. Thy glory is shown and 
Thy kingdom established and advanced in leading 
men and nations by a way that they knew not, 
to a land of security and peace. Oh, that men 
would praise Thee for Thy goodness, and for 
Thy wonderful works to the children of men. 

' We adore Thee for the way in which Thou 
hast led us. The glory and honor of our nation 
is the manifestation of our power and glory. 
Thou hast led in ways not of our own choosing; 
ways best for us and most to Thy glory. May 
we cheerfully follow where Thou leadest ! 

" Thou has been the God of our fathers. Thou 
art the God of their children. Our trust is in 
Thee. Save us, O Lord, from ingratitude and 
discontent. Give us the spirit of praise and 
thanksgiving. Grant that we, as a nation and a 

Lore. 



100 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

people, may remember Thy goodness, andpraise 
Thee for continued life and prosperity. 

"O Lord our God, let Thv richest blessing- 
rest upon Thy servant, the President of these 
United States. Imbue him with a competency 
of Thy divine wisdom, that he may direct the 
affairs of the nation to Thy glory and the well- 
being of all our people. 

"We humbly beseech Thee, O Lord God, to 
bless all in authority. Sustain them in their 
responsible relations to Thee and a free people. 
" O God of all wisdom and grace, grant unto 
this assembly wisdom, grace, and guidance, that 
in all their deliberations and conclusions Thy 
name shall be glorified, the honor of this nation 
maintained, and the peace and prosperity of the 
people established. 

"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and 
to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, 
is now, and ever shall be, world without end. 

Amen." 

Edward O. Wolcott, United States Senator 

from Colorado, was given an ovation when he 

faced the delegates to the Convention in the 

character of temporary chairman at 12.54 P- M -» 

being introduced by Senator Hanna. It was 

several minutes before he was able to begin 

his carefully prepared speech. When he did he 

was given the closest attention and the various 





SENATOR CHARLES W. FAIRBANKS 




GEORGE F. HOAR 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 101 

points he made were heartily applauded. He 
spoke as follows : 

"Since the first party Convention in these 
United States, there was never one gathered 
together under such hopeful and auspicious 
circumstances as those which surround us to- 
day. United, proud of the achievements of the 
past four years, our country prosperous and 
happy, with nothing to regret and naught to 
make ashamed, with a record spotless and 
clean, the Republican party stands facing the 
dawn, confident that the ticket it shall present 
will command public approval, and that in 
the declaration of its principles and its purposes, 
it will voice the aspirations and hopes of the 
vast majority of American freeman. 

"We need 'no omen but our country's 
cause;' yet there is significance in the fact 
that the Convention is assembled in this his- 
toric and beautiful city, where we first assumed 
territorial responsibilities, when our fathers, a 
century and a quarter ago, promulgated the 
immortal Declaration of Independence. 

"The spirit of justice and liberty that ani- 
mated them found voice three-quarters of a cen- 
tury later in this same City of Brotherly Love, 
when Fremont led the forlorn hope of united 
patriots who laid here the foundations of our 
party and put human freedom as its cornerstone. 



102 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

It compelled our ears to listen to the cry of suf- 
fering across the shallow waters of the Gulf two 
years ago. While we observe the law of nations 
and maintain that neutrality which we owe to 
a great and friendly government, the same 
spirit lives to-day in the genuine feeling of sym- 
pathy we cherish for the brave men now fight- 
ing for their homes in the veldts of South 

Africa. 

"It prompts us in our determination to give 
the dusky races of the Philippines the blessings 
of good government and republican institutions, 
and finds voice in our indignant protest against 
the violent suppression of the rights of the 
colored man in the South. That spirit will sur- 
vive in the breasts of patriotic men as long as 
the nation endures ; and the events of the past 
have taught us that it can find its fair and free 
and full expression only in the principles and 
policy of the Republican party. 

Glowing Tribute to McKinley. 

" The first and pleasant duty of this great 
Convention, as well as its instinctive impulse, 
is to send a message of affectionate greeting to 
our leader and our country's President, William 
McKinley. In all that pertains to our welfare 
in times of peace, his genius has directed us. 
He has shown an unerring mastery of the 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 103 

economic problems which confront us, and has 
guided us out of the slough of financial disaster, 
impaired credit and commercial stagnation, up 
to the high and safe ground of national pros- 
perity and financial stability. Through the 
delicate and trying events of the late war he 
stood firm, courageous and conservative, and 
under his leadership we have emerged triumph- 
ant, our national honor untarnished, our credit 
unassailed, and the equal devotion of every sec- 
tion of our common country to the welfare of 
the Republic cemented forever. 

"Four years ago the Republican party at 
St. Louis named a ticket which commanded the 
confidence and support of the American people. 
It bore the names of two eminent Americans, 
each endeared by years of loyal service to his 
country and his party. No whisper of personal 
attack intruded upon the national issues which 
determined the contest. There was a double 
safeguard for the country's welfare. Every 
true American knew that if in the dispensation 
of Providence our leader should be called from 
his high place, there stood beside him a states- 
man devoted and staunch, in whose hands the 
vast and weighty affairs of our country could 
be well and safely entrusted. 

"The tariff measure under which we are now 
conducting business was preceded by an unusual 



104 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

volume of importations based upon common 
knowledge that certain duties were to be raised ; 
trie bill met trie popular demand that duties on 
many of the necessaries of life should be lowered 
and not raised ; advances in invention and new 
trade conditions made it unnecessary and 
unwise to revert to the higher tariff provisions 
of the law of 1890; the increases in the revenue 
provisions were slight. Yet, notwithanding all 
these facts, tending to reduce income, the reve- 
nues from the Dingley bill marched steadily 
upwards, until soon our normal income exceeded 
our normal expenditure, and we passed from a 
condition of threatened insolvency to one of 
National solvency. 

"This tells but a small fraction of the story. 
Under the wise provisions of our tariff laws and 
the encouragement afforded to capital by a 
renewal of public confidence, trade commenced 
to revive. The looms were no longer silent and 
the mills deserted ; railway earnings increased, 
merchants and banks resumed business, labor 
found employment at fair wages, our exports 
increased, and the sunshine of hope again illu- 
mined the land. The figures that illustrate the 
growing prosperity of the four years of Repub- 
lican administration well nigh stagger belief. 
There isn't an idle mill in the country to-day. 
" The mortgages on Western farms have been 



, - 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 105 

paid by the tens of thousands, and our farmers 
are contented and prosperous. Our exports 
have reached enormous figures ; for the last 
twelve months our exports of merchandise will 
exceed our imports by fifty-five millions of dol- 
lars. Our manufactured articles are finding a 
market all over the world and in constantly 
increasing volume. We are rapidly taking our 
place as one of the great creditor nations of the 
world. Above and beyond all, there is no man 
who labors with his hands, in all our broad 
domain, who cannot find work, and the scale of 
wages was never in our history as high as now." 

Trusts and Prosperity. 

" Whenever a Republican administration is 
in power there is constant talk of trusts. The 
reason isn't far to seek. Aggregations and com- 
binations of capital find their only encourage- 
ment in prosperous days and widening com- 
merce. Democratic administration in this coun- 
try has universally meant industrial stagnation 
and commercial depression, when capital seeks 
a hiding place instead of investment. The 
Republican party has always maintained that 
any combination having for its purpose the cor- 
nering of a market or the raising or controlling 
of the price of the necessaries of life was unlaw- 
ful and should be punished, and a commission 



106 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

appointed by the President nnder Act of Con- 
gresshas made careful investigation and will 
soon present a full report of the best method of 
dealing with this intricate question. We shall 
meet it in some efhcient way, and, as a party, 
shall have the courage to protect every class of 
our citizens. There was never a better time to 
deal with it than now, when there isn't in this 
broad land a man willing to work who doesn't 
find employment at fair wages, and when the 
clamor of the agitator, who seeks confiscation 
and not regulation, falls on dead ears and finds 
no response from the artisans in our busy work- 
shops." 

East and West as One. 

" May I, a Western man, add another word? 
The passage of the currency bill, which received 
the vote of every Western republican in Con- 
gress, marked the termination, forever final, of 
any sort of difference between Republicans of 
the East and West, growing out of currency 
problems. Even if the sternlogic of events had 
not convinced us, our deep and abiding loyalty 
to the principles of the party, our belief that 
the judgment of its majority should govern, 
would lead us to abandon further contention. 
And the thousands of Republicans in the West, 
who left us four years ago, are returning. The 
men of the Far West are bone of your bone, and 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 107 

flesh of your flesh. The sun that shines on 
you blesses them also, and the shadow before 
your door darkens their homes as well. They 
are naturally expansionists in the Western 
plains and mountains, and when they see a 
great political party attacking the integrity of 
the nation, and lending encouragement to insur- 
rectionists who are shooting down our soldiers 
and resisting the authority of the government 
of the United States, all other questions fade 
and are forgotten, and they find themselves 
standing shoulder to shoulder in the ranks of 
the Republican party, keeping step, always, "to 
the music of the Union." 



Relief from War Tax. 



u 



There is more to follow this summary of a 
few of the leading measures passed by a Repub- 
lican Congress and approved by a Republican 
President. Before the expiration of Mr. 
McKinley's first term we shall have passed a 
law relieving certain articles from a portion at 
least of the burdens they now carry because of 
the War Revenue act, and meanwhile we have, 
out of surplus revenues, already paid and called 
in for cancellation $43,000,000 of outstanding 
bonds. The coming winter will see enacted into 
law, legislation which shall revivify and upbuild 
our ocean merchant marine, and enable us to 



108 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

compete on fair terms with the subsidized ships 
of foreign nations which now so largely monopo- 




CHAIRMAN HANNA OF THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN 
COMMITTEE AND HIS MOST ACTIVE COLLEAGUES. 

lize the carriage of American goods. And above 
all, we shall, having then before us the report 
of the able commission now ascertaining the 




COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY ROCKWOOD, N. Y. 

HON. SETH LOW 



PROMINENT REPUBLICAN AND PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE, NEW YORK 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 109 

most favorable route, pass a law under which 
we shall build and own and operate as property 
of the United States, under exclusive American 
dominion and control, a ship canal connecting 
the Atlantic and the Pacific. 

" Through it in time of peace the commerce 
of the world shall pass. If we shall be 
unhappil}- engaged in war, the canal shall carry 
warships and shall exclude those of the enemy, 
and under conditions which shall violate no 
treaty stipulations. 

The Spanish War. 

This is the brief account of our stewardship 
for four years. During a portion of that period 
we were involved in a war that for a time para- 
lyzed business and commerce, and would have 
taxed heavily the resources and credit of any 
other country than ours ; and for the past year 
or more we have been employing an army of 
some 50,000 men in suppressing an insurrection 
against our authority 8,000 miles away. No 
industry has felt the strain of these extraordi- 
nary expenses nor have they affected the 
general sum of our prosperity. More than that, 
the conditions resulting from the legislation of 
the past four years have obliterated every issue 
that was raised during the last campaign. 

" During the weeks and months preceding the 



110 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

outbreak of hostilities with Spain, the President 
of the United States, who knew by personal 
experience on many a battlefield something of 
the horrors of war, and who realized the expense 
and suffering which war entailed, stood firmly 
upon the ground that a peaceful solution could 
be found. And when that awful occurrence took 
place in the harbor of Havana, and a hot frenzy 
of indignation swept over our people, and a con- 
flict seemed inevitable, he faced popular clamor 
and heated counsels, and still believed that the 
wrongs of Cuba could be remedied and re- 
dressed without an appeal to the arbitrament of 



war. 



" The folly of Spain and the indignation ot 
the American people forbade a peaceful solution. 
Then the President, seconded by a Republican 
Congress, before a gun was fired, declared to the 
world the lofty and unselfish motives that alone 
actuated the nation. No man now, or in the 
centuries to come, when history, which alone 
' triumphs over time,' recounts the marvelous 
story of the war which changed the map of the 
world, shall ever truthfully say that this Repub- 
lic was animated by any but the noblest pur- 
poses. Recorded time tells of no such war, for 
it was fought, with bloody sacrifice, by a great 
and free Republic, for the freedom of another 
race, while its own liberties were unassailed." 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 1 U 

Can't Judge Them by Their Clothes. 

It was interesting to note the cnrions tastes 
and fancies of the delegates to the Convention. 
No description of the great gathering wonld be 
complete without mention of the many inci- 
dents that threw a side light on the leaders and 
some of the less conspicuous members. 

-A- 

' Greatest exhibition ever known. Step inside 
and see the political celebrities ! " This is the 
greeting shouted by an imaginary doorkeeper 
at the Hotel Walton. Inside the lobby is a sea 
of men — young men, old men, Southerners look- 
ing like models for English tailors, and North- 
erners garbed in the typical wide-brimmed soft 
hat and loose fitting clothes of the man born in 
Dixey. It is impossible to tell a man's home by 
his clothes nowadays. Every man wishes to 
hide his identity. Town-bred politicians imitate 
the styles of the countryman, while the latter 
in their best Sunday-go-to-meetin' finery try to 
look as if they had always lived in a big city 
hotel and couldn't tell the smell of hay from 
the odor of city streets. 

Outside the Walton, posing for his picture to 
a half dozen snap-shot artists, is Chauncey M. 
Depew. He looks his part — a well-groomed, 
well-dressed millionaire. His gray whiskers 
are parted evenly. His dark blue suit is 
becoming to his ruddy complexion. A gold stud 



112 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

shines like a star in the middle of his immacu- 
late shirt front, while his little how necktie is 
blue, white and black. A jaunty straw hat, with 
a black band, is perched on his head, just tar 
enough back to show little bangs. 

As the eye turns from Dr. Depew, a fine- 
looking, well-built man, with little side-whiskers 
and fuzzy hair comes into view, his eyes 
twinkling with humor. This, you say, this is 
the great Marc Antony of modern times. He 
is not fat as the pictures paint him, and is 
rather well groomed, but a trifle carelessly 

dressed 

A little further on is Charles Dick, secretary 
of the National Committee. You hear the 
strains of " Faust " in your brain and expect 
to see a blaze of red fire, so much does Mr Dick 
resembles Mephistophles. A fine black broad- 
cloth suit, black necktie, spotless linen and a 
silk hat form his irreproachable but rather con- 
ventional outfit. 

Two men in the centre of a group of reporters 
look like delegates from the country but are 
evidently of great importance. You fight and 
push your way through the crowd, and make 
the startling discovery that they are the Penn- 
sylvania Senator noted for his good taste m 
dressing, and Congressman Adams. Senator 
Penrose wears a faded suit that looks as if it 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 113 

might have been in the war. His hat is tilted 
back on his head in the approved rustic fashion, 
Mr. Adams' get-up is totally beyond the sphere 
of description. As they leave the group of 
reporters they take in the splendors of the hotel 
with the placid wonder bred of long days in iso- 
lated fields. 

Joe Manley is the Beau Brummel of the con- 
vention, always neat and well dressed. He is 
said to change his linen several times a day. 
Henry C. Payne looks like a professional 
farmer. Dressed in blue serge and a wide brim- 
med Panama hat, he has the honor of being the 
most popular man of them all. 

Colonel DuPont, of noisy little Delaware, 
wears a black and white negligee shirt, with 
black necktie, and a suit of broadcloth. On his 
arm he usually carries a light serge dust cloak 
and a soft hat of Panama crowns his stately 
head. You gaze at him in reverential awe when 
you hear he represents $140,000,000, and you 
are just a little surprised to find he is only a 
man dressed much like the others. 

On one of the upper floors of the Walton sits 
unpretentious Governor Roosevelt. After you 
succeed in reaching the room you look all about 
for the great man, and you don't see him. 
"What!" you say, "isn't Mr. Roosevelt here?" 
"Yes, he is here," says the colored porter, with 

8 



114 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

pity, for any one who doesn't know "Teddy" 
by sight. 

"Over there now, he's going downstairs." 

Well ! pictures of "Teddy" in his beautiful, 
well-fitting uniform, leading the gallant Rough 
Riders, pictures of him in evening dress, nit 
through your brain and make you wonder at 
the strangeness of it all. 

His clothes look as if they had been made for 
someone else and made long ago. The trousers 
are great, loose, baggy affairs, that look as if 
they had been cut with a circular saw. They 
are the kind of things we call "pants." His 
eoat looks as if he had slept in it. A black, 
stringy necktie is tied upside down around an 
extremely low collar, giving him an appearance 
of strange awkwardness. The original slouch 
hat he wore to Cuba crowns his head. 

"Roosevelt!" The name was shouted from 
lips in the Convention with the fervor of admi- 
ration. Thousands and thousands of voices 
took it up and rolled it upon the air in volumes 
of mighty sound. For five minutes the man 
who could be Vice-President of this country by 
simply saying "Yes," stood at the railing 
behind the delegates' section acknowledging 
the splendid tribute. Bowing and smiling, the 
cavalryman ran the gauntlet of the delegation 
and took his seat with his New York conferees. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 115 



An echo of the cheer that had been Roose- 
velt's was given for Senators Chauncey Depew 
and Piatt, who accompanied Colonel Roosevelt 
down the aisle. 

And then the fakirs ontside the gates felt the 
Roosevelt boom. With baskets of a pnzzle 
built on the idea of the " Pigs in Clover" game, 
the peddlers sold hundreds of the latest edition, 
called "Teddy's New Teeth." A grimacing 
countenance of the Rough Rider was stamped 
in tin and the game was to put five little white 
marbles in the cavities of Teddy's mouth. With 
the Roosevelt button, the game had the call of 
the crowd, and sold like roses for a commence- 
ment. 

Among the distinguished official gentlemen 
present were six Governors of States : Governor 
Stone, of Pennsylvania ; Governor Roosevelt, of 
New York ; Governor Shaw, of Iowa ; Governor 
Mount, of Indiana ; Governor Nash, of Ohio, 
and Governor W. S. Taylor, of Kentucky, who 
was warmly received. 

Among the former Governors were Frank S. 
Black, of New York, and W. O. Bradley, of 
Kentucky. 

The ample auditorium of the Convention was 
slowly filled, thousands taking the precaution 
to be ahead of time, and only, as tliey were 
easily seated for hours before the hall was 



116 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

thoroughly occupied, was the immensity of the 
edifice, so admirably arranged, understood. 

The enormous hall, glowing with color, filled 
with people, under a light that revealed every 
face at its best, surrounded with portraits of the 
worthies cf the Republic and the emblazoned 
shields of the sovereign States, presented a mag- 
nificent spectacle as Senator Hanna arose and 
invited the invocation of the Divine Blessing 
upon the Convention. 

The Senator was greeted with great applause 
when he directed Representative Charles Dick 
to read the official call to the Convention, a cere- 
mony which was effectively performed. 

Chairman Hanna' s Speech. 

Senator Hanna was heard far and near as he 
presented the temporary chairman, Senator 
Wolcott, of Colorado. The remarks of the Sen- 
ator were full of pungent sentences, heard 
throughout the hall and emphasized with vehe- 
ment applause. 

Chairman Hanna has never been known as 
an orator, but he displayed beyond any question 
the fact that he knows how to use the English 
language and choose his words well. 

" Gentlemen of the Convention : In bidding 
you welcome I also desire to extend congratula- 
tions upon this magnificent gathering of repre- 




SENATOR A. J. BEVERIDGE 




WIIyUAM P. FRYK 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 117 

sentatives of the great Republican party. 
(Applause.) The National Committee made 
no mistake when they brought the National 
Convention to the city of Philadelphia. 
(Applause). This city, the cradle of liberty 
(applause), the birthplace of the Republican 
party (applause), this magnificent industrial 
centre, a veritable bee-hive of industry, what 
fitter object lesson could be presented to those 
of us who have gathered here to witness the 
success of that principle of our party which has 
been its foundation, the protection of American 
industries ! (Applause). This city that has 
long and always been known the country over 
for its unbounded hospitality (applause) and 
the superb management of all great functions 
which have come within the limits. 

"On the part of the National Committee, I 
desire to extend their sincere thanks to the 
people of Philadelphia, and especially to your 
honorable Mayor (applause), and the loyal citi- 
zens, without regard to party, who have labored 
with him to make this Convention a success. 
Never in the history of conventions of either 
political party has a success been greater. 

v Delegates, I greet you on the anniversary 
in Philadelphia of the birthday of our part}-. 
(Applause.) I need not remind you that your 
duty here is one of deliberate judgment. We 



118 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

are called together once more upon the eve of 
another great struggle. 

"We are now beginning to form our battalions 
under the leadership of our great statesman, 
General William McKinley (continued ap- 
plause). I was about to give the order for those 
battalions to move, but you interrupted me. 
(Laughter.) It needs no order to Republicans 
when they scent from afar the smoke of battle ; 
it needs no incentive for the men that sit in 
front of me to tell them what their duty is. 
Upon the foundation of our party rests the 
belief and strength of every member of it. 

"Before I lay aside my gavel and retire from 
the position which I have held as chairman of 
the National Committee for four years, I desire, 
in this presence, in the most public manner, to 
return my sincere thanks to every member of 
this splendid committee who stood by me in the 
struggle of 1896, and especially to that coterie 
who gathered at the headquarters in New York 
and Chicago and worked from early morning 
until late at night for the principles of the 
Republican party and for the welfare of their 
country. I leave it in the hands of others to 
tell you what that meant, but in passing to 
others these duties, I want to make one sugges- 
tion, always trust the people (applause) and 
leave as an inheritance to them the motto of the 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 119 

Committee of 1896: 'There is no such word as 
fail.' (Applause.) 

'And now, gentleman, it becomes my duty 
and very great pleasure to present as your tem- 
porary chairman, Senator Wolcott of Colorado." 

There was nothing to suggest that he was 
posing for laudation. He spoke like one 
interested in the cause that he is. Every word 
and every gesture was suggestive of firmness. 
Prosperity and McKinley were the main points 
of his speech which did not take more than five 
minutes to deliver, and they made their 
impression upon the delegates and spectators. 
Depew, Thurston or any of a hundred others 
who are noted for their power as platform 
speakers could not have done better. 

The mention of McKinley' s name was the 
signal for applause that lasted almost as long as 
Chairman Hanna's speech itself. 

Delegates and spectators arose in their seats 
and cheered themselves hoarse. Even the ladies 
seemed to become imbued with the spirit of 
enthusiasm and fans and handkerchiefs were 
waved by them with a will. 

There was a wonderful light in the house as 
Senator Wolcott opened his splendid speech. 
There was just enough sunshine and air to 
brighten the pavement of faces. The delegates 
and alternates facing the platform were framed 



120 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

with multitudes of faces, that shone as with 
inner light. In the galleries and beyond the 
platform occupied by the officers were the guests, 
an imposing assemblage. 

The front row near the chairs was occupied 
by venerable men who come down to us from a 
former generation. As Daniel Webster said to 
the survivors of the battle of Bunker Hill half 
a century after the battle :— " Heaven had 
bounteously lengthened out their lives to wit- 
ness the auspicious day." 

The venerable men, the guests of honor of 
the Convention, were of those who in the early 
days were foremost workers in laying the 
foundations of the Republican party, begin- 
ning with the liberty party half a century 

before. 

Mr Hanna in calling together the Con- 
vention, expressed the thanks of the National 
Committee to the Mayor and citizens of Phila- 
delphia for their efforts to make this Convention 
a success, adding that " never in the history of 
Conventions of either political party has a 
success been greater." 

This referred, of course, to the preliminary 
preparations. The success of the Convention, 
as such, was to be determined by its results. 
Bn* all that could be done in advance to make 
the gathering successful and to promote the 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 121 

convenient dispatch of business, was done most 
effectively and the general opinion of the dele- 
gates sustained the chairman's praise. 

The success of the Convention hall was espe- 
cially gratifying. It was the largest and best 
that any Convention ever enjoyed. The hall 
was the most important of the essential prepa- 
rations for the Convention. The city was big 
enough to hold the delegates and other visitors 
without much disturbance of its ordinary life, 
and though the crowd at some of the hotels was 
too great for comfort, there appeared to be no 
lack of accommodation and no suggestion of a 
struggle. 

The handling of the crowd at the hall was 
very successful, and indeed a Philadelphia 
crowd generally knows how to conduct itself so 
well, as to require little direction. The visitors 
agreed with Air. Hanna that in deciding to hold 
the Convention in Philadelphia the committee 
made no mistake. 



122 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

SECOND DAY OF THE CONVENTION. 

The crowd in the Convention Hall was as 
much larger than it was on the opening day as 
the limitations of the big building would allow. 
There was not even standing room anywhere 
within sight of the platform. Many who could 
not get chairs sat in the aisles, not, however, 
without serious conflicts with several of the 
young men who wore ushers' badges. 

There were more women present than on the 
opening day, and their bright summer costumes 
added to the lavish display of color that makes 
the brilliant assemblage a better subject for the 
artist's brush than for the hundreds of cameras 
that were brought to bear on it. Everybody 
arrived early ; consequently, when 12 o'clock 
came the amphitheatre for delegates was a half 
empty pit in the centre of a great concourse of 
expectant people. Souvenir seekers had taken 
away the numberless fans that were scattered 
over the hall when the Convention opened, as 
they had taken away a number of other small 
things. The flower vases around the bank of 
palms at the foot of the platform had been 
replenished. Some thoughtful person had sent 
a bouquet of fresh flowers to the Chairman's 
table. There was no appearance of untidiness 
anywhere. It was all very fresh, very neat and 
very pretty. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 123 

Arrival of the Big Guns. 

It was 12 o'clock before trie big guns of the 
convention began to put in an appearance. 
Hanna, Depew, the Mayor, Wolcott, Bliss, 
Allison and members of the National Commit- 
tee were on time, and received a repetition of 
the cordial greetings of the day before. New 
faces noticed were Senator Chandler, who sat 
close to Senator Hanna ; Governor Voorhees, of 
New Jersey, who was a delegate-at-large, and 
was bronzed with the sea winds after a quick 
return from Europe; ex-Postmaster General 
Gary, who had with him Wu Ting-Fang, 
Chinese Minister at Washington, and his Sec- 
retary of Legation, Mr. Chung. These two 
Celestials, robed in rich silks, were warmly 
welcomed by a large number of public men, and 
were closely questioned by interviewers. 

'lam here simply as an observer," was the 
reply of the Minister. "I want to see how the 
American people nominate their candidates for 
the Presidency." 

Ex-Governor Taylor, of Kentucky, got 
another round of applause as he walked to 
his seat with his delegation. A number of 
women from the visitors' seats were permitted 
to go to the delegates' quarters and have a 
brief chat with Mrs. Jones, of Salt Lake City. 
Many of these were woman suffragists, busily 



124 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

engaged in distributing circulars advocating 

their cause. 

Governor Roosevelt's appearance shortly 
after 12 was the signal for a spontaneous tumult 
of welcome. The centre aisle became choked 
with delegates, who wanted to shake hands with 
him, and he had some difficulty in forcing his 
way to his seat. He could not ignore the drift of 
popular sentiment in his direction, and, taking 
off his sombrero, he bowed in recognition of it. 

Welcome to Party Veterans. 
It was 12.30 when everybody arose for "The 
Star Spangled Banner." The Chinese Minister 
looked very solemn when the Rev. Charles M. 
Boswell prayed that "all wars might soon 
cease " Then came one of the most interest- 
ing incidents of the convention, a spectacle 
that brought tears to the eyes of men, who love 
their party, and which the majority of the 
persons who witnessed it will probably never 

forget. 1 ,, 

A file of white haired patriachs mounted the 
platform, bearing a tattered " Old Glory," that 
could hardly be held together by a cross staff. 
It was the same flag used at the Pittsburg 
Republican Convention in 1856, and these vet- 
erans were men who cheered it then. Fifteen 
Of them, drawn up side by side, listened with 




EUGENE HALE OF MAINE 
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Naval Affaire 




HENRY C. PAYNE 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 125 

bowed heads to the uproarious welcome of the 
multitude. Beside the old flag was a blue silk 
banner with the words, " National Fremont 
Association, Republican part}^, organized Feb- 
ruary 2, 1856, at Pittsburg, Pa." 

While these venerable men stood there, Gov- 
ernor Roosevelt was as wildly enthusiastic as a 
schoolboy. He jumped on his chair, and led off 
in the cheering. It was a long time before the 
clerk could read a resolution regretting the 
inability of many of the members of the National 
Fremont Association to be present, on account 
of old age, and saying that having been good 
Republicans for forty-four years, they intended 
to continue so to the end. Senator Hawley, of 
Connecticut, was among the veterans in that 
line, but he was not called upon for a speech. 
As the delegation retired, the band struck up 
"My Country, 'Tis of Thee." 

Senator Lodge Elected Chairman. 

This incident over, the remainder of the 
routine business of the Convention was put 
through with a whirl. General Grosvenor, of 
Ohio, Chairman of the Committee on Permanent 
Organization, presented his report, which was 
also put through without opposition. Governors 
Roosevelt, of New York, and Shaw, of Iowa, 
were appointed a committee to conduct Senator 



126 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts, to the 

chair. 

The Senator's reference in his speech to 
Hawaii and the presence of representatives of 
that new acquisition brought the delegates to 
their feet in a lusty greeting to the Hawanans. 
When he referred to the " infamy " in Ken- 
tucky, the delegates from that State yelled their 
approval, and other States added a sympathetic 
demonstration. Reference to the policy of the 
Government toward Cuba and the Philippines 
brought out frequent manifestations of approval. 

Eloquent Speech of Senator Lodge. 

The permanent Chairman of the Convention 

received a cordial welcome as he stepped to the 

front of the platform and addressed the great 

throng that crowded every part of the hall, as 

follows : ... 

" One of the greatest honors that can tall to 
any American in public life is to be called to 
preside over a Republican National Convention. 
How great that honor is you know, but you 
cannot realize, nor can I express the gratitude 
which I feel to vou for having conferred it upon 
me. I can only say to you, in the simplest 
phrase, that I thank yon from the bottom of 
my heart. < Beggar that I am, I am even poor 
in thanks, and yet I thank you.' 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 127 

"We meet again to nominate the next Presi- 
dent of the United States. Four years have 
passed since we nominated the soldier and 
statesman who is now President, and who is 
soon to enter upon his second term. Since the 
Civil War no Presidential term has been so 
crowded with great events as that which is now 
drawing to a close. They have been four mem- 
orable years. To Republicans they show a 
record of promises kept, of work done, of unfore- 
seen questions met and answered. To the 
Democrats they have supplied material for 
wise reflection. 

Industrial Revolution. 

"In 1897 we took the government and the 
country from the hands of President Cleveland. 
His party had abandoned him, and were joined 
to their idols, of which he was not one. During 
the last years of his term we had presented to 
us the melancholy spectacle of a President try- 
ing to govern without a party. The result was 
that his policies were in ruin, legislation was at 
a standstill, and public affairs were in a perilous 
and incoherent condition. Party responsibility 
had vanished, and with it all possibility of intel- 
ligent action, demanded by the country at home 
and abroad. It was an interesting but by no 
means singular display of Democratic unfitness 



128 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

for the practical work of government. To the 
political student it was instructive, to the coun- 
try it was extremely painful, to business dis- 
astrous. „ _ . 
Promises Have Been Kept. 

"We replaced this political chaos with a 
President in thorough accord with his party, 
and the machinery of government began again 
to move smoothly and effectively. Thus we 
kept at once our promise of better and more 
efficient administration. In four months after 
the inauguration of President McKinley we had 
passed a tariff bill. For ten years the artificial 
agititation, in behalf of what was humorously 
called tariff reform and of what was really free 
trade, had kept business in a ferment, and had 
brought a treasury deficit, paralyzed industries ; 
depression, panic and finally continuous bad 
times to a degree never before imagined. 

" Would you know the result of our tariff 
legislation ? look about you ! Would you mea- 
sure its success ? recollect that it is no longer an 
issue ; that our opponents, free traders as they 
are do not dare to make it an issue ; that there 
is not a State in the Union to-day which could 
be carried for free trade against protection. 
Never was a policy more fully justified by its 
work ; never was a promise made by any party 
more absolutely fulfilled. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 129 

Country Placed on Sound Financial Basis. 

"Dominant among the issues of four years 
ago was that of our monetary and financial 
system. The Republican party promised to 
uphold our credit, to protect our currency from 
revolution and to maintain the gold standard. 
We have done so. We have done more. We 
have been better than our promise. Failing to 
secure, after honest effort, any encouragement 
for international bimetallism, we have passed a 
law strengthening the gold standard and plant- 
ing it more firmly than ever in our financial 
system, improving our banking laws, buttressing 
our credit and refunding the public debt at 2 
per cent, interest, the lowest rate in the world. 
It was a great work well done. 

"The only argument the Democrats can 
advance to-day in their own behalf on the money 
question is that a Republican Senate, in the 
event of Democratic success, would not permit 
the repeal of a Republican law. This is a pre- 
cious argument when looked at with considerate 
eyes, and quite worthy of the intellects which 
produced it. Apply it generally. Upon this 
theory, because we have defeated the soldiers of 
Spain and sunk her ships, we can with safety 
dispense with the army and the navy which did 
the work. 

"Take another example. There has been a 



130 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

fire in a great city ; it has been checked and ex- 
tinguished ; therefore, let ns abolish the fire 
department and cease to insure our homes. Dis- 
trust in our currency, the dread of change, the 
deadly fear of a debased standard were rag- 
ing four years ago, and business lay prostrate 
before them. Republican supremacy and 
Republican legislation have extinguished the 
fires of doubt and fear, and business has risen 
triumphant from the ashes. 

" Therefore, abolish your fire department, 
turn out the Republicans and put in power the 
incendiaries who lighted the flames, and trust to 
what remains of Republican control to avert 
fresh disaster. The proposition is its own refu- 
tation. The supremacy of the party that has 
saved the standard of sound money and guarded 
it by law is as necessary for its security and for 
the existence of honest wages and of business 
confidence now as it was in 1896. The moment 
the Republican party passes from power and 
the party of free silver and fiat paper comes in, 
stable currency and the gold standard, the 
standard of the civilized world, are in imminent 
and deadly peril. Sound currency and a steady 
standard of value are to-day safe only in Repub- 
lican hands. 

"But there were still other questions in 
1896. We had already thwarted the efforts of 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 131 

the Cleveland Administration to throw the 
Hawaiian Islands back to their dethroned 
Queen and to give England a foothold for her 
cables in the gronp, We then said that we 
would settle finally the Hawaiian question. We 
have done so. The traditional American policy 
has been carried out. The flag of the Union 
floats to-day over the cross-roads of the Pacific. 

Unforeseen Issues Demand New Policies. 

"We promised to deal with the Cuban 
question. Again comes the reply. We have 
done so. The long agony of the island is over. 
Cuba is free. But this great work brought with 
it events and issues which no man had foreseen, 
for which no party creed had provided a policy. 
The crisis came, bringing war in its train. 
The Republican President and the Republican 
Congress met the new trial in the old spirit. 
We fought the war with Spain. The result is 
history known of all men. We have the per- 
spective now of only a short two years, and yet 
how clear and bright the great facts stand out, 
like mountain peaks against the sky, while the 
gathering darkness of a just oblivion is creep- 
ing over the low grounds where lie forgotten 
the trivial and unimportant things, the criti- 
cisms and the fault findings, which seemed so 
huge when we still lingered among them. 



182 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

"Here they are, these great facts : A war of 
a hundred days, with many victories and no 
defeats, with no prisoners taken from us and no 
advance stayed, with a triumphant outcome, 
startling in its completeness and m its world- 
wide meaning. Was ever a war more justly 
entered upon, more quickly fought, more fully 
won, more thorough in its results ? Cuba is 
free Spain has been driven from the Western 
Hemisphere. Fresh glory has come to our 
arms and crowned our flag. It was the work of 
the American people, but the Republican party 
was their instrument. Have we not the right 
to say that here, too, even as in the days ot 
Abraham Lincoln, we have fought a good fight, 
we have kept the faith, we have finished the 

work ? 

The Islands Will be Kept. 

"War, however, is ever like the sword of Alex- 
ander. It cuts the knots. It is a great solvent, 
and brings many results not to be foreseen. 
The world forces, unchained in war, performs 
in hours the work of years of quiet. Spam 
sued for peace. How was that peace to be 
made ? The answer to this great question had 
to be given by the President of tne United 
States. We were victorious in Cuba, in Porto 
Rico, in the Philippines. . 

" Should we give those islands back to bpam. 




JOSEPH H. MANLEY 




J. P. DOLLIVER 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 133 

Never ! was the President's reply. Would any 
American wish, that he had answered otherwise? 
Should we hand them over to some other power ? 
Never ! was again the answer. Would our pride 
and self respect as a nation have submitted to 
any other reply ? Should we turn the islands, 
where we had destroyedail existing sovereignty, 
loose upon the world to be a prey to domestic 
anarchy and the helpless spoil of some other 
nation ? Again the inevitable negative. Again 
the President answered as the nation he repre- 
sented would have had him answer. 

Cry of Imperialism. 

"He boldly took the islands, took them 
knowing well the burden and responsibility, 
took them from a deep sense of duty to ourselves 
and others, guided by a just foresight as to our 
future in the East and with an entire faith in 
the ability of the American people to grapple 
with the new task. When future conventions 
point to the deeds by which the Republican 
party has made history they will proclaim with 
especial pride that under a Republican Admin- 
istration the war of 1898 was fought, and that 
the peace with Spain was the work of William 
McKinley. 

"The new problems brought by the war we 
face with confidence in ourselves, and a still 



134 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

deeper confidence in the American people, who 
will deal justly and rightly with the islands 
which have come into their charge. The out- 
cry against our new possessions is as empty as 
the cant about 'militarism,' and 'imperialism' 
is devoid of sense and meaning. Regard for a 
moment those who are loudest in shrieking that 
the American people are about to enter upon a 
career of oppression, and that the Republic is 
in danger. Have they been in the past the 
guardians of freedom ? 

" No, the party of Lincoln may best be trusted 
now, as in the past, to be true, even as he was 
true, to the rights of man and to human free- 
dom, whether within the borders of the United 
States or in the islands which have come beneath 
our flag. The liberators may be trusted to 
watch over the liberated. We who freed Cuba will 
keep the pledge Ave made to her, and will guide 
her along the road to independence and stable 
government until she is ready to settle her own 
future by the free expression of her people's 
will.- We will be faithful to the trust imposed 
upon us, and if among those to whom this great 
work is confided in Cuba or elsewhere wrong- 
doers shall be found, men not only bad in morals 
but dead to their duty as Americans and false 
to the honor of our name, we will punish these 
basest of criminals to the extent of the law. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 135 

Situation in the Islands. 

" For the islands of Hawaii and Porto Rico 
the political problem has been solved, and by 
Republican legislation they have been given 
self government, and are peaceful and pros- 
perous under the rule of the United States. 

" In the Philippines we were met by rebel- 
lion fomented by a self seeking adventurer 
and usurper. The duty of the President 
was to repress that rebellion, to see to it 
that the authority of the United States as 
rightfully and as righteous in Manila as in 
Philadelphia, was acknowledged and obeyed. 
That harsh and painful duty President 
McKinley has performed firmly and justly, 
eager to resort to gentle measures wherever 
possible, unyielding when treachery and 
violence made force necessary. Unlike the 
opponents of expansion, we do not regard the 
soldiers of Otis, Lawton and Mac Arthur as 'an 
enemy's camp.' In our eyes they are soldiers 
of the United States, they are our army, and 
we believe in them and will sustain them. 

Trade Expansion in the Orient. 

" We believe in trade expansion. By every 
legitimate means within the province of the 
government and legislation we mean to stimu 
late the expansion of our trade and to open new 



136 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

markets. Greatest of all markets is China. 
Our trade there is growing by leaps and bounds. 
Manila the prize of war, gives us inestimable 
advantages in developing that trade. It is the 
corner-stone of our Eastern policy, and the 
brilliant diplomacy of John Hay in securing 
from all nations a guarantee of our treaty 
rights and of the open door in China rests upon 
it. We ask the American people whether they 
will throw away these new markets and widen- 
ing opportunities for trade and commerce by 
putting in power the Democratic party, who 
seek, under cover of a newly discovered affection 
for the rights of man, to give up these islands 
of the East and make Dewey's victory fruitless? 
"The choice lies between this Democratic 
policy of retreat and the Republican policy, 
which would hold the islands, give them free- 
dom and prosperity, and enlarge those great 
opportunities for ourselves and our posterity. 
The Democratic attitude toward the Philippines 
rests wholly upon the proposition that the 
American people have neither the capacity nor 
the honesty to deal rightly with these islands. 
They assume that we shall fail. We have no 
distrust of the honor, the humanity, the capa- 
city of the American people. To feel or do 
otherwise is to doubt ourselves, our government 
and our civilization. We take the issue with 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900 137 

Democrats who would cast off the Philippines, 
and we declare that the American people can be 
trusted to deal wisely and generously with these 
distant islands, and will lift them up to a higher 
prosperity, a broader freedom and a nobler civi- 
lization than they have ever known. We have 
not failed elsewhere. We shall not fail here. 

Prosperity Under Republican Rule. 

"We do not say that we have panaceas for 
every human ill. We do not claim that any 
policy we, or any one else, can offer will drive 
from the world sorrow and suffering and poverty, 
but we say that so far as government and legis- 
lation can secure the prosperity and well being 
of the American people our Administration and 
our politics will do it. We point to the adver- 
sity of the Cleveland years lying dark behind 
us. It has been replaced by the prosperity of 
the McKinley years. Let them make whatever 
explanation they will, the facts are with us. 

" It is on these facts that we shall ask for the 
support of the American people. What we have 
done is known, and about what we intend to do 
there is neither secrecy nor deception. What 
we promise we will perforin. Our old policies 
are here, alive, successful and full of vigor. Our 
new policies have been begun, and for them we 
ask support. When the clouds of impending 



138 hEPUBLICaN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

civil war hung dark over the country in 1861 we 
took up the great task then laid upon us, and 
never flinched until we had carried it through 
to victory. Now, at the dawn of a new century, 
with new policies and new opportunities open- 
ing before us in the bright sunshine of prosper- 
ity, we again ask the American people to entrust 
us with their future. We have profound faith 
in the people. We do not distrust their capac- 
ity of meeting the new responsibilities, even as 
they met the old, and we shall await with the 
confidence, under the leadership of William 
McKinley, the verdict of November." 

When Senator Lodge concluded his address 
the applause that had been frequent throughout 
its delivery was renewed, and he received many 
congratulations for his able defence of Repub- 
lican principles and legislation. 

THE PLATFORM. 
The convention then listened to the plat- 
form, which was unanimously adopted : 

The Republicans of the United States 
through their chosen representatives met in 
National Convention, looking back upon an 
unsurpassed record of achievement, and looking 
forward into a great field of duty and oppor- 
tunity, and appealing to the judgment of their 
countrymen, make these declarations : 

The expectation in which the American 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 139 

people, turning from the Democratic part}', 
entrusted power four years ago to a Republican 
Chief Magistrate and a Republican Congress, 
has been met and satisfied. When the people 
then assembled at the polls, after a term of 
Democratic legislation and administration, 
business was dead, industry paralyzed and the 
national credit disastrously impaired. 

The country's capital was hidden awa}^ and 
its labor distressed and unemployed. The 
Democrats had no other plan with which to 
improve the ruinous conditions which they had 
themselves produced than to coin silver at the 
ratio of 16 to i. The Republican party, de- 
nouncing this plan as sure to produce conditions 
even worse than those from which relief was 
sought, promised to restore prosperity by means 
of two legislative measures — a protective tariff 
and a law making gold the standard of value. 
The people by great majorities issued to the 
Republican party a commission to enact these 
laws. This commission has been executed, and 
the Republican promise is redeemed. Pros- 
perity more general and more abundant than 
we have ever known has followed these enact- 
ments. There is no longer controversy as to 
the status of any government obligations. 

Every American dollar is a gold dollar or its 
assured equivalent, and American credit stands 



140 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

higher than that of any nation. Capital is 
fully employed and labor everywhere is profit- 
ably occupied. No single factor more strik- 
ingly tells the story of what Republican Gov- 
ernment means to the country than this — that 
while during the whole period of 107 years, 
from 1790 to 1897, there was an excess of 
exports over imports of only $383,028,497, there 
has been in the short three years of the Repub- 
lican Administration an excess of exports over 
imports in the enormous sum of $1,483,537,094. 

The Administration Endorsed. 

And while the American people, sustained by 
this Republican legislation, have been achieving 
these splendid triumphs in their business and 
commerce, they have conducted and in victory 
concluded a war for liberty and human rights. 
No thought of national aggrandizement tar- 
nished the high purpose with which American 
standards were unfurled. It was a war un- 
sought and patiently resisted, but when it came 
the American Government was ready. Its 
fleets were cleared for action. Its armies were 
in the field and the quick and signal triumph 
of its forces on land and sea bore equal tribute 
to the courage of American soldiers and sailors 
and to the skill and foresight of Republican 
Statesmanship. To ten millions of the human 




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CUSHMAN K, DAVIS OF MINNESOTA 
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affaire 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 141 

race there was given u a new birth of freedom," 
and to the American people a new and noble 
responsibility. 

We endorse the administration of William 
McKinley. Its acts have been established in 
wisdom and in patriotism, and at home and 
abroad it has distinctly elevated and extended 
the influence of the American nation. Walk- 
ing nntried paths and facing nnforseen respon- 
sibilities, President McKinley has been in every 
situation the true American patriot and the 
upright statesman, clear in vision, strong in 
judgment, firm in action, always inspiring and 
deserving the confidence of his country men. 

In asking the American people to endorse 
this Republican record and to renew their com- 
mission to the Republican party, we remind 
them of the fact that the menace to their pros- 
perity has always resided in Democratic prin- 
ciples and no less in the general incapacity of 
the Democratic party to conduct public affairs. 
The prime essential of business prosperity is 
public confidence in the good sense of the Gov- 
ernment and in its ability to deal intelligently 
with each new problem of administration and 
legislation. That confidence the Democratic 
party has never earned. It is hopelessly inade- 
quate and the country's prosperity, when Dem- 
ocratic success at the polls is announced, halts 



142 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

and ceases in mere anticipation of Democratic 
blunders and failures. 

For the Gold Standard. 

We renew our allegiance to the principle of 
the gold standard and declare our confidence in 
the wisdom of the legislation of the Fifty-sixth 
Congress by which the parity of all our money 
and the stability of our currency upon a gold 
basis has been secured. We recognize that 
interest rates are a potent factor in production 
and business activity, and for the * purpose of 
further equalizing and of further lowering the 
rates of interest, we favor such monetary legis- 
lation as will enable the varying needs of the 
season and of all sections to be promptly met in 
order that trade may be evenly sustained, labor 
steadily employed and commerce enlarged. The 
volume of money in circulation was never so 
great per capita as it is to-day. 

We declare our steadfast opposition to the 
free and unlimited coinage of silver. No meas- 
ure to that end could be considered which was 
without the support of the leading commercial 
countries of the world. However firmly Repub- 
lican legislation may seem to have secured the 
country against the peril of base and discredited 
currency, the election of a Democratic President 
could not fail to impair the country's credit and 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 143 

to bring once more into question the intention 
of the American people to maintain upon the 
gold standard the parity of their money circu- 
lation. The Democratic party must be con- 
vinced that the American people will never tol- 
erate the Chicago platform. 

Should Restrain Trusts. 
We recognize the necessity and propriety of 
the honest operation of capital to meet new 
business conditions and especially to extend our 
rapidly increasing foreign trade, but we con- 
demn all conspiracies and combinations intended 
to restrict business, to create monopolies, to 
limit production, or to control prices, and favor 
legislation as will effectively restrain and pre- 
vent all such abuses, protect and promote com- 
petition ahd secure the rights of producers, 
laborers and all who are engaged in industry and 
all who are engaged in industry and commerce. 

Renewed Faith in Protection. 

We renew our faith in the policy of protection 
to American labor. In that policy our indus- 
tries have been established, diversified and 
maintained. By protecting the home market 
competition has been stimulated and production 
cheapened. Opportunity for the inventive genius 
of our people has been secured, and wages in 
every department of labor maintained at high 



144 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

rates, higher now than ever before, and always 
distingnishing onr working people in their 
better condition of life from those of any com- 
peting country. 

Reciprocity. 
Enjoying the blessings of the American com- 
mon school, secure in the right of self-govern- 
ment and protected in the occupancy of theit 
own markets, their constantly increasing know- 
ledge and skill have enabled them finally to 
enter the markets of the world. We favor the 
associated policy of reciprocity ; so directed a? 
to open our markets on favorable terms for what 
we do not ourselves produce in return for free 
foreign markets. 

Restricted Immigration. 

In the further interest of American workmen 
we favor a more effective restriction of the im- 
migration of cheap labor from foreign lands, 
the extension of opportunities of education for 
working children, the raising of the age limit 
for child labor, the protection of free labor as 
against contract convict labor and an effective 
system of labor insurance. 

For a Merchant Marine. 
Our present dependence upon foreign ship- 
ping for nine-tenths of our foreign carrying is a 




MATTHEW S. QUA\ 




SHELBY M. CUIvLUM 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 145 

great loss to the industry of this country. It is 
also a serious danger to our trade, for its sud- 
den withdrawal, in the event of European war, 
would seriously cripple our expanding foreign 
commerce. The national defence and naval 
efficiency of this country, moreover, supply a 
compelling reason for legislation which will 
enable us to recover our former place among 
the trade carrying fleets of the world. 

Liberality to the Veteran. 

The nation owes a debt of profound gratitude 
to the soldiers and sailors who have fought its 
battles, and it is the Government's duty to pro- 
vide for the survivors and for the widows and 
orphans of those who have fallen in the coun- 
try's wars. The pension laws, founded in this 
just sentiment, should be liberal, and should be 
liberally administered, and preference should be 
given, wherever practicable, with respect to 
employment in the public service, to soldiers 
and sailors and to their widows and orphans. 

Civil Service Commended. 
We commend the policy of the Republican 
party in maintaining the efficiency of the civil 
service rules. The Administration has acted 
wisely in its effort to secure for public service in 
Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippine 

Islands only those whose fitness has been deter- 
10 



146 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

mined by training and experience. We believe 
that employment in the pnblic service in those 
Territories shonld be confined, as far as practi- 
cable, to their inhabitants. 

It was the plain purpose of the fifteenth 
amendment to the Constitution to prevent dis- 
crimination on account of race or color in 
regulating the elective franchise. Devices of 
State Governments, whether by statutory or 
constitutional enactments, to avoid the purpose 
of this amendment, are revolutionary, and 
should be condemned. 

Good Roads and Rural Delivery. 

Public movements looking to a permanent 
improvement of the roads and highways of the 
country meet with our cordial approval, and we 
recommend this subject to the earnest consider- 
atien of the people and of the Legislatures of 
the several States. 

We favor the extension of the rural free deliv- 
ery service, wherever the extension may be 

justified. 

Reclamation of Arid Lands. 

In further pursuance of the constant policy 
of the Republican party to provide free homes 
on the public domain, we recommend adequate 
national legislation to reclaim the arid lands of 
the United States, reserving control of the dis- 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 14? 

tribution of water for irrigation to the respective 
States and Territories. 

Statehood for Territories. 

We favor home rule for and the early admis* 
sion to Statehood of the Territories of New 
Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. 

Reduction of War Taxes. 

The Dingley act, amended to provide suffi- 
cient revenue for the conduct of the war, has so 
well performed its work that it has been possi- 
ble to reduce the war debt in the sum of 
$40,000,000. So ample are the Government's 
revenues, and so great is the public confidence 
in the integrity of its obligations, that its newly 
funded 2 per cent, bonds sell at a premium. 
The country is now justified in expecting, and 
it will be the policy of the Republican party to 
bring about, a reduction of the war taxes. 

Isthmian Canal. 
We favor the construction, ownership, control 
and protection of an isthmian canal by the Gov- 
ernment of the United States. New markets 
are necessary for the increasing surplus of our 
farm products. Every effort should be made to 
open new markets, especially in the Orient, and 
the Administration is warmly to be commended 
for its successful effort to commit all trading 
and colonizing nations to the policy of the open 



148 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

door in China. In the interest of onr expanding 
commerce, we recommend that Congress create 
a Department of Commerce and Industries, in 
the charge of a Secretary, with a seat in the 
Cabinet. The United States Consular system 
should be reorganized under the supervision of 
this new Department upon such a basis of 
appointment and tenure as will render it still 
more serviceable to the nation's increasing 
trade. 

Must Protect our Citizens. 

The American Government must protect the 
person and property of every citizen wherever 
they are wrongfully violated or placed in peril 

Woman's Work Appreciated. 

We congratulate the women of America upon 
their splendid record of public service in the 
Volunteer Aid Association, and as nurses in 
camp and hospital, during the recent campaigns 
of our armies in the Eastern and Western 
Indies, and we appreciate their faithful co-ope- 
ration in all works of education and industry 

• 

Foreign Policy Approved. 

President McKinley has conducted the foreign 

affairs of the United States with distinguished 

credit to the American people. In releasing us 

from the vexatious conditions of a European 




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REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 149 

alliance for the government of Samoa his course 
is especially to be commended. By securing to 
our undivided control the most important island 
of the Samoan group and the best harbor in the 
Southern Pacific every American interest has 
been safeguarded. 

The African War. 

We commend the part taken by our Govern, 
ment in the Peace Conference at The Hague- 
We assert our steadfast adherence to the policy 
announced in the Monroe doctrine. The pro- 
visions of The Hague Convention were wisely 
regarded when President McKinley tendered 
his friendly offices in the interest of peace 
between Great Britain and the South African 
Republic. While the American Government 
must continue the policy prescribed by Wash- 
ington, affirmed by every succeeding President 
and imposed upon us by The Hague treaty of 
non-intervention in European controversies, the 
American people earnestly hope that a way 
may soon be found, honorable alike to both 
contending parties, to terminate the strife 
between them. 

Our Duty to the Philippines. 

In accepting by the treaty of Paris the just 
responsibility of our victories in the Spanish 



150 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

war the President and the Senate won the 
undoubted approval of the American people. 
No other course was possible than to destroy 
Spain's sovereignty throughout the Western 
Indies and in the Philippine Islands. That 
course created our responsibility before the 
world and with the unorganized population 
whom our intervention had freed from Spain, 
to provide for the maintenance of law and order, 
and for the establishment of good government, 
and for the performance of international obliga- 
tions. Our authority could not be less than 
our responsibility, and wherever sovereign rights 
were extended, it became the high duty of the 
.Government to maintain its authority, to put 
down armed insurrection, " and to confer the 
blessings of liberty and civilization upon all the 
rescued people. 

The largest measure of self government con- 
sistent with their welfare and our duties shall 
be secured to them by law. To Cuban inde- 
pendence and self government were assured in 
the same voice by which war was declared, and 
to the letter this pledge shall be performed. 

The Republican party, upon its history and 
upon this declaration of its principles and 
policies, confidently invokes the considerate 
and approving judgment of the American 
people. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 151 

Quay Wants to Amend the Rules. 

After the adoption of the platform, ex-Senator 
Quay offered an amendment to the report of the 
Rules Committee to base the representation in 
the next National Convention on the Presi- 
dential vote this year, one delegate to be elected 
for each 10,000 votes, and a majority of 10,000 
votes, four delegates-at-large from each State, 
six from each Territory and two from Alaska, 
Hawaii and the District of Columbia. The 
ex-Senator sent to the Secretary a table showing 
the changes this amendment would effect, 
taking the vote of the last Presidential election 
as a basis. 

The clerk read the table as far as Louisiana, 
when ex-Senator Quay interrupted him, and 
proceeded to speak, when he was forced by the 
clamor of the delegates and spectators to take 
the platform. He stood there a minute or more 
unable to go on owing to the cheers which 
greeted him. He waived his hand to stop them 
and finally appealed to the chairman to use his 
gavel. When quiet was restored, he said he 
would ask that the rules be adopted except that 
portion affected by his amendment, and that this 
be taken up the first thing on the morning of 
the next day, and in the meantime the delegates 
would be better prepared to vote on the matter. 

Unanimous consent was asked, but there were 



152 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

several objections from Southern delegates, who 
wanted the Quay amendment killed immedi- 
ately. 

Delegate McCall, of Tennessee, announced 
that he wanted to be heard on this question, "so 
vital to Southern Republicans.' ' 

Delegate Lynch, of Mississippi, presented a 
substitute, which was ruled out on a point of 
order. 

Congressman Mudd, of Maryland, moved that 
the rest of the rules be adopted, and those ex- 
Senator Quay proposed to amend be postponed 
until the following day. This was agreed to 
unanimously. 

THIRD DAY OF THE CONVENTION. 

This was the great day, and long before 10 
o'clock, the hour set for the reassembling of the 
convention, the hall was surrounded by an im- 
mense army of people, who besieged all the 
doors and entrances, clamoring for admission. 
When the doors were opened they surged like 
a flood submerging the vast hall. 

The stage had been freshened with green 
things, and at each corner, like a touch of flam- 
ing color, red peonies shot into the air. The 
band in the north gallery was at work early with 
inspiring music. It was much warmer than on 
preceeding days. The sun blazed down through 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 153 

the space in the roof and the heat gave promise 
of being oppressive. 

Bnt the ladies were attired in their thinnest 
muslins, everybody was provided with a fan, 
and there was no complaint. One old fellow in 
the gallery, with charming disregard of the 
proprieties, divested himself of coat and vest, 
hung them over the rail, and took his seat. 

Three minutes before 10 o'clock the Kansas 
delegation, headed by Colonel Barton, with 
bright silk sunflowers pinned to their lapels, 
aroused the first enthusiasm as they marched 
down the main aisle bearing a white banner 
inscribed in big black letters with the words 
" Kansas is for Roosevelt." 

As the delegates debouched into the pit the 
utmost good nature was manifested. The contest 
was over. It was to be a love feast, a jubilee, 
and not a contest, which the day was to witness. 
Governor Roosevelt entered at exactly 10 
o'clock. He made a rush for his seat, but he 
did not escape the keen eye of the thousands, 
and they set up a cheer at sight of him. 

One of the questions that agitated the Con- 
vention from the start was, who should be the 
candidate for Vice President. There was a 
strong, unanimous feeling in favor of Governor 
Roosevelt, of New York, but he repeatedly ex- 
pressed his wish to have some other man 



154 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

selected, as lie wished to be the nominee for 
Governor of the Empire State, and believed that 
in this capacity he could best serve the interests 
of the party at large. 

It was reported that the Administration at 
Washington had preferences for certain men. 
This again was contradicted, and there were so 
many conflicting reports that on the evening of 
the second dayof the convention Senator Hanna, 
Chairman of the Republican National Commit- 
tee, issued the following statement : 

"The Administration has had no candidate 
for Vice-President. It has not been for or 
against any candidate. It has deemed that the 
Convention should make the candidate, and 
that has been my position throughout. It has 
been a free field for all. In these circumstances 
several eminent Republicans have been pro- 
posed ; all of them distinguished men, with 
many friends. I will now say that on behalf of 
all of those candidates, and I except none, I 
have within the last twelve hours been asked to 
give my advice. After consulting with as many 
delegates as possible in the time within my 
disposal, I have concluded to accept the respon- 
sibility involved in this request. In the present 
situation, with the strong and earnest sentiment 
of the delegates from all parts of the country 
for Governor Roosevelt, and since President 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 155 

McKinley is to be nominated without a dissent- 
ing voice, it is my judgment that Governor 
Roosevelt should be nominated for Vice-Presi- 
dent with the same unanimity." 

This announcement of Senator Hanna was 
made after a long consultation with many 
leaders of the party. He called the newspaper 
men into one of the rooms where the consulta- 
tions had taken place and read from manuscript. 

The effect of this statement was to cause 
instant and unanimous agreement among the 
delegates for Roosevelt. 

Synopsis of the Third Day's Events. 

This was the day of all days — a day of great 
expectations, of unbounded satisfaction ; a day 
when an unprecedented thing was to befall the 
Republican party, in the nomination by accla- 
mation of candidates for the Presidency and 
Vice Presidency. 

But, first of all, and above all, it was a day of 
harmony. There were to be no heart-breakings, 
no unmaking of political reputations, no relega- 
tions to back seats to lead to future sulkings in 
the great Republican camp. An able, trusted, 
and tried leader was to be re-honored, a forceful 
and popular idol was to be signally compli- 
mented. 

Threatened complications had been made 



156 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

impossible by a mutual exhibit of good sense 
and forbearance. The Convention atmosphere 
was clear, clean, and tingling with enthusiasm 
and hope. 

It was upon this basis of fortuitous circum- 
stances and amid these happy surroundings, 
impregnated with omens of success, that the 
Convention entered at 10.36 upon its last day's 

work. 

The immense hall was packed with a fan- 
waving mass of humanity that early gave 
evidences of an inclination to place the stamp 
of its approval upon everything that the nine 
hundred delegates might do. 

Attired in scarlet robes, himself a represen- 
tative of one of the most powerful organizations 
on earth, Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan, of this 
city, invoked a blessing upon the day, the Con- 
vention, and its labors. 

One of the first evidences of a complete resto- 
ration of harmony, if indeed it could be said 
that there had been any marked dissensions by 
the withdrawal on the part of Senator Quay, of 
Pennsylvania, of his amendment to those sec- 
tions of the report of the Committee on Rules, 
which proposed to make the basis of represen- 
tation at party conventions in the future, the 
number of votes cast for national candidates as 
opposed to its resting upon population. 




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REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 157 

This withdrawal had been generally pre- 
dicted, and occasioned no great surprise, and 
but a moderate demonstration of approval. 

Foraker Names McKinley. 

Then the event long waited for and eagerly 
anticipated came to pass. Chairman Lodge 
announced that nominations for a candidate for 
President were in order. 

The mere announcement occasioned an out- 
break of applause. 

Following a long honored custom, Senator 
Lodge proceeded to call the States in alphabeti- 
cal order. 

" Alabama," called the presiding officer, of 
Massachusetts, But Alabama announced that 
she gave way to Ohio. 

"The chair recognizes Senator Foraker, of 
Ohio," shouted Senator Lodge. 

Without delay the distinguished son of the 
Buckeye State, McKinley' s own, stepped from 
his place in the Ohio delegation to the platform 
to the accompaniment of cheers and hand- 
clappings. Senator Foraker has a fine pres- 
ence, but not a specially magnetic one. On 
reaching the platform he was given a fine greet- 
ing. He spoke for twenty-three minutes, clos- 
ing at twelve minutes past n o'clock. 

The speaker's closing words, "I place in 



158 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1000. 

nomination William McKinley, the President 
of these United States," was a prelnde to a 
thnnderons storm of acclamations, which con- 
tinned for npward of twelve minutes, and it was 
fully fifteen minutes before the applause had so 
far subsided as to permit Governor Roosevelt to 
take the platform and second the nomination. 
Every noise that the human voice is capable of 
producing entered into the uproar — cheers, 
shrill and guttral and deep; delirious ejacula- 
tions, born of excitement and nervousness, and 
that could never be made under ordinary pres- 
sure. 

Great Enthusiasm. 

The outburst of enthusiasm was tremendous. 
It was led by Hanna himself, who advanced to 
the front of the platform, raised his hand, and 
led on the multitude. Taking a pampas plume, 
which had been brought to the stage by one of 
the delegations, he waved it about and the 
cheering continued. 

The delegates all rushed toward the stage 
with the States' standards and crowded around 
Chairman Hanna. Myriads of pampas plumes 
were intermingled. 

The scene was the most impressive that has 
ever been seen in Philadelphia, and it equalled, 
if not surpassed, any other demonstration that 
has been enacted on a similar occasion during 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 159 

previous national conventions. A band played 
lustily all the time, but it could hardly be heard 
above the racket. The thousands of delegates 
were simply wild. Next they sang, "Halle- 
lujah, We Go Marching Along." The outburst 
lasted continuously for twelve minutes, and 
subsided only to break out afresh. 

The delegates marched through the aisles 
with their State standards aloft and singing to 
the accompaniment of the band in the gallery. 

When the only Vice Presidential candidate, 
erect and burly of form and spectacled, rose 
briskly from his seat, it was the signal for more 
applause, which culminated in a magnificent 
ovation as, straight as an arrow, with head 
thrown back and shoulders squared as if on 
dress parade, the hero of San Juan faced the 
delegates and spectators to reinforce the argu- 
ments made by Foraker why William McKinley 
should be renominated. 

Roosevelt's Great Speech. 

Having finally secured the attention of the 
Convention after many deprecating waves of his 
right hand, New York's chief executive pro- 
ceeded to demonstrate that the Republican 
party had made no mistake in uniting upon 
him for second place on the ticket. The rough 
rider's seconding speech was a masterful 



160 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

exhibition of mental, grammatical, and physical 
virility. Roosevelt struck out straight from 
the shoulder, landing many blows calcu- 
lated to jar the Democratic party. He went tc 
the very core of the great questions of the day 
with a directness that delighted his hearers . 

Senator Foraker's Nominating Speech. 

Amid a tumult of applause, Senator Foraker 
went to the platform, and when " quiet was 
restored spoke as follows : 

" Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Con- 
vention : Alabama yields to Ohio, and I thank 
Alabama for that accommodation. Alabama 
has so yielded, however, by reason of a fact that 
would seem in an important sense to make the 
duty that has been assigned to me a superfluous 
duty, for Alabama has yielded because of the 
fact that our candidate for the Presidency has, 
in fact, been already nominated. (Applause.) 
He was nominated by the distinguished Senator 
from Colorado when he assumed the duties of 
Temporary Chairman. 

"He was nominated again yesterday by the 
distinguished Senator from Massachussetts 
when he took the ofhce of Permanent Chairman ; 
and he was nominated for a third time when the 
Senator from Indiana yesterday read us the 
platform, (applause). And not only has he 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 161 

been thus nominated by this Convention, but he 
has also been nominated by the whole American 
people, (applause). From one end of this land 
to the other in every mind only one and the same 
man is thought of for the honor which we are 
now about to confer, and that man is the first 
choice of every other man who wishes repub- 
lican success next November, (applause.) 

u On this account it is that it is not necessary 
for me or any one else to speak for him here or 
elsewhere. He has already spoken for himself 
(applause), and to all the world. He has a 
record replete with brilliant achievments (ap- 
plause), a record that speaks at once both his 
performances and his highest eulogy. It com- 
prises both peace and war, and constitutes the 
most striking illustration possible of triumphant 
and inspiriting fidelity and success in the dis- 
charge of public duty. 

Wheels of Labor Whirl. 

"Four years ago the American people con- 
fided to him their highest and most sacred trust. 
Behold with what results ! He found the in- 
dustries of this country paralyzed and prostrated, 
he quickened them with a new life that has 
brought to the American people a prosperity 
unprecedented in all their history. He found 

the labor of this country everywhere idle i he 
11 



162 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

has given it everywhere employment. He fonnd 
it everywhere in despair, he has made it every- 
where prosperons and buoyant with hope. He 
found the mills and shops and factories and 
mines everywhere closed ; they are now every- 
where open, (applause). 

"And while we here deliberate, they are send- 
ing their surplus products in commercial con- 
quest to the very ends of the earth. Under his 
wise guidance our financial standard has been 
firmly- planted high and beyond assault, and the 
wild cry of sixteen to one, so full of terror and 
long hair in 1896, has been put to everlasting 
sleep alongside of the lost cause, and other 
cherished Democratic heresies, in the catacombs 
of American politics, (applause). With a 
diplomacy never excelled and rarely equalled, 
he has overcome what at times seemed to be in- 
surmountable difficulties, and has not only 
opened to us the door of China, but he has ad- 
vanced our interests in every land. 

"Mr. Chairman, we are not surprised by this 
for we anticipated it all. When we nominated 
him at St. Louis four years ago we knew he was 
wise, we knew he was brave," we knew he was 
patient, we knew he could be faithful and de- 
voted, and we knew that the greatest possible 
triumphs of peace would be his ; but we then 
little knew that he would be called upon to en- 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, J 900. 163 

counter also the trials of war. That unusual 
emergency came. It came unexpectedly — as 
wars generally come. It came in spite of all 
he could honorably do to avert it. It came to 
find the country unprepared for it, but it found 
him equal to all its extraordinary requirements, 
(applause). 

And it is no exaggeration to say that in all 
American history there is no chapter more 
brilliant than that which chronicles, with him 
as our Commander-in-Chief, our victory on land 
and sea (applause.) In one hundred days 
we drove Spain from the Western Hemisphere, 
girded the earth without acquisition and filled 
the world with the splendor of our power (ap- 
plause.) The American name has a new and 
greater significance now. Our flag has a new 
glory. It not only symbolizes human liberty 
and political equality at home, but it means 
freedom and independence for the long suffer- 
ing patriots of Cuba, and complete protection, 
education, enlightenment, uplifting, and ulti- 
mate local self government and the enjoyment 
of all the blessings of liberty to the millions of 
Porto Rico and the Philippines. 

What we have so gloriously done for our- 
selves we propose most generously to do for 
them (applause.) We have so declared in 
the platform that we have adopted. A fitting 






164 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

place it is for this party to make such declara- 
tion. Here in this magnificent city of Philadel- 
phia, where the evidences so abound of the rich 
blessings the Republican party has brought to 
the American people. 

" Here, at the birthplace of the nation, where 
our own Declaration of Independence was 
adopted, and our Constitution was formed; where 
Washington and Jefferson and Hancock and 
John Adams and their illustrious associates wrote 
their immortal work; here, where centre so many 
historic memories that stir the blood and flush 
the cheek and excite the sentiments of human 
liberty and patriotism is indeed a most fitting 
place for the party of Lincoln, and Grant, and 
Garfield, and Blaine. (Applause.) 

" The party of Union and Liberty for all men 
to formally dedicate themselves to this great 
duty. We are now in the midst of its discharge. 
We could not turn back if we would, and would 
not if we could. (Applause.) We are on trial 
before the world, and must triumphantly meet 
our responsibilities, or ignominiously fail in the 
presence of mankind. These responsiblilies 
speak to this convention here and now, and com- 
mand us that we choose to be our candidate and 
the next President — which is one and the same 
thing— the best fitted man for the discharge of 
this great duty in all the Republic. (Applause). 




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REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 165 

" On that point there is no difference of opin- 
ion. No man in all the nation is so well quali- 
fied for this trust as the great leader under whom 
the work has been so far conducted. He has 
the head, he has the heart, he has the special 
knowledge and the special experience that qual- 
ify him beyond all others. And, Mr. Chairman, 
he has also the stainless reputation and character 
and has led the blameless life that endear him 
to his countrymen, and give to him the confi- 
dence, the respect, the admiration, the love, and 
the affection of the whole American people. 
(Applause). He is an ideal man, representing 
the highest type of American citizenship ; an 
ideal candidate, and an ideal President. With 
our banner in his hands, it will be carried to 
triumphant victory in November next. (Ap- 
plause). 

" In the name of all these considerations, not 
alone on behalf of his beloved State of Ohio, 
but on behalf of every other State and Territory 
here represented, and in the name of all Repub- 
licans everywhere throughout our jurisdiction, 
I nominate to be our candidate for the Presi- 
dency — William McKinley." 

Senator Foraker spoke with a vigor, eloquence 
and magnetism characteristic of the man. His 
review of the achievements of the McKinley 
Administration was brilliant and epigrammatic, 



166 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

When he referred to the passage of the financial 
legislation during the last session of Congress 
upon the recommendation of the President, the 
Convention cheered the sentiment enthusiasti- 
cally. In concluding his reference to the finan- 
cial legislation, Senator Foraker said : 

"The wild cry of 16 to i, so full of terror in 
1896, has been put everlastingly to sleep in the 
catacombs of American politics." 

Pandemonium Broke Loose. 

This sentiment was received with cheers from 
the delegates, while the gallery spectators shook 
the building with their enthusiastic demonstra- 
tion. Briefly, Senator Foraker adverted to the 
record of the President, in peace or in war, 
as one of the most remarkable in American 
history. " In war and in peace," said he, 
while the delegates and spectators echoed the 
refrain of the sentiment expressed, • "he has 
been found equal to all extraordinary require- 
ments." 

In all American history there has been no 
chapter more brilliant than that written by the 
United States with him as chief. The refer- 
ence to the great leader of the party, the suc- 
cesses already acheived by him, and the grave 
responsibilities now being carried forward by 
him, made the applause frequent and long con- 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 167 

/inued. But it remained for his closing sen- 
tence, for the first time mentioning William 
McKinley by name as the nominee, to electrify 
the great multitude. 

Pandemonium broke loose, Former tempests 
of enthusiasm paled before this cyclone of 
sound and movement. Every one stood and 
waved and yelled. State standards were 
wrenched from their places and borne aloft 
with umbrellas, great plumes of red and white 
and blue, a perfect sea of color. Senator Hanna 
sprang to the front of the stage, a flag in one 
hand, a plume in the other, and led in the tre- 
mendous demonstration. Not content with 
their frenzied hurrah on the floor, delegates 
marched in solid ranks upon the platform, with 
standards, plumes, banners and flags. 

Roosevelt Seconds the Nomination. 

It was exactly fifteen minutes when order was 
restored and Mr. Lodge announced : 

"The Chair recognizes Governor Roosevelt, 
of New York." 

Again the magic of a name sent the multi- 
tude into convulsions of enthusiasm. All eyes 
were turned toward Roosevelt. He stepped out 
into the aisle and strode up the platform, 
looking neither to the right nor to the left, 
and then turning and surveying the sea of 



ib8 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, J 900. 

waving, cheering humanity. There he stood, 
his face grimly set, without a smile. He made 
no acknowledgment, no salutation to the plaud 
its, but like a hero receiving his due, calmly 
awaited the subsidence of the tumult. At last 
he raised his hand, and at his bidding the 
demonstration came to an end. 

His speech was applauded by the assembled 
thousands and none more effective was made in 
the Convention. • 

Governor Roosevelt, in seconding the nomi- 
nation of McKinley, said : 

"Mr. Chairman: I rise to second the nomina- 
tion of William McKinley, the President, who 
has had to meet and solve problems more 
numerous and more important than any other 
President since the days of mighty Abraham 
Lincoln; the President under whose adminis- 
tration this country has attained a higher pitch 
of prosperity at home and honor abroad than 
ever before in its history. Four years ago the 
Republican party nominated William McKinley 
as its standard bearer in a political conflict of 
graver moment to the nation than any that has 
taken place since the close of the Civil War 
saw us once more a reunited country. 

"The Republican party nominated him; but, 
before the campaign was many days old, he had 
become the candidate, not only of all Republi- 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 169 

cans, but of all Americans who were both far- 
sighted enough to see where the true interests 
of the country lay, and clear-minded enough to 
be keenly sensitive to the taint of dishonor. 
President McKinley was triumphantly elected 
on certain distinct pledges, and those pledges 
have been made more than good. We were 
then in a condition of industrial paralysis. 
The capitalist was plunged in ruin and disaster; 
the wage-worker was on the verge of actual 
want; the success of our opponents would have 
meant not only immense aggravation of the 
actual physical distress, but also a stain on the 
nation's honor so deep that more than one gen- 
eration would have to pass before it would 
be effectually wiped out. 

"We promised that if President McKinley 
were elected not only should the national honor 
be kept unstained at home and abroad, but that 
the mill and the work-shop should open, the 
farmer have a market for his goods, the mer- 
chant for his wares, and that the wage-earner 
should prosper as never before. We did not 
promise the impossible; we did not say that, by 
good legislation, and good administration, there 
would come prosperity to all men; but we did 
say that each man should have a better chance 
to win prosperity than he had ever yet had. In 
the long run the thrift, industry, energy and 



170 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

capacity of the individual must always remain 
the chief factor in his success. 

"By unwise or dishonest legislation or admin- 
istration on the part of the national authorities, 
all these qualities in the individual can be 
nullified, but wise legislation and upright 
administration will give them free scope ; and 
it was this free scope that we promised should 

be given. 

Business Is Booming. 

" Well, we kept our word. The opportunity 
has been given, and it has been seized by 
American energy, thrift and business enter- 
prises. As a result, we have prospered as never 
before, and we are now prospering to a degree 
that would have seemed incredible four years 
ago, when the clouds of menace to our industrial 
well being hung black above the land. 

"So it has been in foreign affairs. Four 
years ago the nation was uneasy because right 
at our doors an American island lay writhing 
in awful agony under the curse of worse than 
mediaeval tyranny and misrule. We had our 
Armenia at our very doors, for the situation in 
Cuba had grown intolerable and such that this 
nation could no longer refrain from interference, 
and retain its own self-respect. 

" President McKinley turned to this duty as 
he had turned to others. He sought by every 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 171 

effort possible to provide for Spain's withdrawal 
from the islands which she was impotent longer 
to do aught than oppress. Then, when pacific 
means had failed, and there remained the only 
alternative, we waged the most righteous and 
brilliantly successful foreign war that any 
country had waged during the lifetime of the 
present generation. It was not a great war, 
simply because it was won too quickly ; but it 
was momentous indeed in its effect. 

" It left us, as all great feats must leave those 
who perform them, an inheritance both of honor 
and of responsibility ; and, under the lead of 
President McKinley, the nation has taken up 
the task of securing orderly liberty and the 
reign of justice and law in the islands from 
which we drove the tyranny of Spain, with the 
same serious realization of duty and sincere 
purpose to perforin it, that has marked the 
national attitude in dealing with the economic 
and financial difficulties that face us at home. 

No Swapping of Horses. 

"This is what the nation has done during the 
three years that have elapsed since we made 
McKinley President ; and all this is what he 
typifies and stands for. We here nominate him 
again, and, in November next, we shall elect 
him again ; because it has been given to him to 



172 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

personify the cause of honor abroad and pros- 
perity at home, of wise legislation and straight- 
forward administration. We all know the old 
adage about swapping horses while crossing a 
stream, and the still older adage about letting 
well enough alone. 

"To change from President McKinley now, 
would be merely to swap horses. It would 
be to j ump off the horse that has carried us 
across and wade back into the torrent ; and to 
put him for four years more into the White 
House means not merely to let well enough 
alone, but to insist that when we are thriving 
as never before, we shall not be plunged back 
into the abyss of shame, and panic and dis- 
aster. 

Honest Administration. 

"We have done so well that our opponents 
actually use this very fact as an appeal for 
turning us out. We have put the tariff on a 
foundation so secure, we have passed such wise 
laws on finance, that they actually appeal to the 
patriotic, honest men who deserted them at the 
last election, to help them now ; because for- 
sooth, we have done so well that nobody need 
fear their capacity to undo our work. I am not 
exaggerating. This is literally the argument 
that is now addressed to the gold Democrats as 
a reason that they need no longer stand by the 




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GREAT PEACE JUBILEE IN PHILADELPHIA -RETURNED 
SOLDIERS MARCHING THROUGH THE COURT OF HONOR 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 173 

Republican party. To all such as may be 
inclined to listen to these specious arguments, 
I would address an emphatic word of warning. 

" Remember that, admirable though our legis- 
lation has been during the past three years, it 
has been rendered possible and effective only 
because there was good administration to back 
it. Wise laws are invaluable, but after all they 
are not as necessary as wise and honest adminis- 
tration of the laws. The best law ever made, if 
administered by those who are hostile to it, and 
and who mean to break it down, cannot be 
wholly effective and may be wholly ineffective. 
We have at last put our financial legislation on 
a sound basis, but no possible financial legisla- 
tion can save us from fearful and disastrous 
panic if we trust our finances to the manage- 
ment of any man who would be acceptable to 
the leaders and guides of the old Democracy 
in its present spirit. 

u No Secretary of the Treasury, who would 
be acceptable to or who could without loss of self- 
respect serve under the Populistic Democracy, 
could avoid plunging the country back into 
financial chaos. Until our opponents have ex- 
plicitly and absolutely repudiated the principles 
which in '96 they professed, and the leaders who 
embody these principles, their success means 
the undoing of the country. Nor have they 



174 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

any longer even the excnse of being honest in 
their folly. 

" They have raved, they have foamed at 
the month, in dennnciation of ^trusts, and now, 
in my own State, their foremost party leaders, 
including the man before whom the others bow 
with bared head and trembling knees, have 
been discovered in a trnst which really is of 
infamons, and perhaps of criminal, character; 
a trust in which these apostles of Democracy, 
prophets of the new dispensation, have sought 
to wring fortunes from the dire need of their 
poorer brethren. 

The Philippine Policy. 

" I rise to second the nomination of William 
McKinley because with him as leader this 
country has trod the path of national greatness 
and prosperity with the strides of a giant, and 
because under him we can, and will, once more 
and finally overthrow those whose success would 
mean for the nation material disaster and moral 
disgrace. Exactly as we have remedied the 
evils which, in the past, we undertook to remedy, 
so, now, when we say that a wrong shall be 
righted, it most assuredly will be righted. 

" We have nearly succeeded in bringing peace 
and order to the Philippines. We have sent 
thither, and to other islands towards whose in- 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 175 

habitants we now stand as trustees in the cause 
of good government, men like Wood, Taft, and 
Allen, whose .very names are synonyms of in- 
tegrity, and guarantees of efficiency. Appointees 
like these, with subordinates chosen on grounds 
of merit and fitness alone, are evidences of the 
spirit and methods in and by which this nation 
must approach its new and serious duties. 
Contrast this with what would be the fate of the 
islands under the spoils system so brazenly ad- 
vocated by our opponents in their last national 
platform. 

" The war still goes on because the allies in 
this country of the bloody insurrectionary 
oligarchy have taught their foolish dupes abroad 
to believe that if the rebellion is kept alive until 
next November Democratic success at the polls 
here will be followed by the abandonment of the 
islands — that means their abandonment to 
savages who would scramble for what we desert, 
until some powerful civilized nation stepped in 
to do what we should have shown ourselves unfit 
to perform. Our success in November means 
peace in the islands. The success of our 
political opponents means an indefinite prolon- 
gation of misery and bloodshed. We of 
this convention now renominate the man 
whose name is a guaranty against such dis- 
aster. 



176 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

" When we place William McKinley as our 
candidate before the people, we place the Re- 
publican party on record as standing for the 
performance which squares with promise, as 
standing for the redemption in administration 
and legislation of the pledges made in the plat- 
form and on the stump, as standing for the 
upbuilding of the national honor and interest 
abroad, and the continuance at home of the 
prosperity which it has already brought to the 
farm and workshop. 

Looks to the Future with Fearless Eyes. 

" We stand on the threshold of a new century, 
a century big with the fate of the great nations 
of the earth. It rests with us now to decide 
whether, in the opening years of that century, 
we shall march forward to fresh triumphs, or 
whether, at the outset, we shall deliberately 
cripple ourselves for the contest. Is America a 
weakling, to shrink from the world work that 
must be done by the world powers ? No. The 
young giant of the West stands on a continent 
that clasps the crest of an ocean in either hand. 
Our nation, glorious in youth and strength, 
looks into the future with fearless and eager 
eyes, and rejoices as a strong man to run a 
race. We do not stand in craven mood, asking 
to be spared the task, cringing as we gaze on the 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 177 

contest. No. We challenge the proud privilege 
of doing the work that Providence allots us, and 
we face the coming years high of heart and res- 
olute of faith that to our people is given the 
right to win such honor and renown as has never 
yet been granted to the peoples of mankind. " 

Senator Thurston's Speech. 

John M. Thurston, of Nebraska, in seconding 
the nomination of President McKinley, said : 

a Gentlemen of the Convention : There are 
voices to-day more powerful and eloquent than 
those of men seconding the nomination of 
William McKinley. They come from the 
forest, and the farm, the mountain and the 
valley, the North, the South, the East and the 
West. They are the voices of happy homes, 
of gladdened hearts, of bustling, toiling, 
striving, earnest, prosperous millions, ot re- 
established business, re-employed labor, re- 
opened factories, renewed national credit and 
faith. 

" In all the whole broad land every furnace 
fire that roars, every spindle that sings, ever? 
whistle that blows, every mountain torrent set 
to toil, every anvil that rings, every locomotive 
that screams, every steamship that plows the 
main, every mighty wheel that turns, are all 
joining the glad, grand voices of prosperous, 
12 



178 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

progressive, patriotic America, seconding the 
nomination of our great President — William 
McKinley. 

Who is William McKinley? 

" And who is William McKinley ? Born of 
common people, struggling through the environ- 
ments of humble boyhood and toil, he stands 
to-day before the world the foremost representa- 
tive of all that is most glorious and grand in 
our uplifted civilization. 

" Who is William McKinley ? A citizen 
soldier of the Republic, the boy volunteer, 
knighted by his country's commission for dar- 
ing deeds in the forefront of desperate battle. 

u His alma mater was the tented field, his 
diploma of valor bore the same signs, true as 
did the emancipation proclamation. 

" When Sheridan, summoned by the mighty 
roar of doubtful battles, rode madly down from 
Winchester and drew nigh to the shattered and 
retreating columns of his army, the first man he 
met to know was a young lieutenant engaged 
in the desperate work of rallying and reforming 
the Union lines, ready for the coming of the 
master, whose presence and genius alone could 
wrest victory from defeat. That young lieu- 
tenant of the Shenandoah has been rallying and 
forming the Union lines from that day to this. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 179 

An Army for Protection. 

" He rallied and formed them for protection 
of American labor ; he rallied and formed them 
to maintain the credit of onr country and the 
monetary standard of the civilized world. He 
rallied and formed them in the great struggle 
of humanity, and sent the power of the Repub- 
lic to the islands of the sea, that a suffering 
people might be lifted from the depths of tyranny 
and oppression. He rallied and formed them, 
that our navies might astound the world and 
make our flag respected in all the earth. He 
rallied and formed them that law and order 
might prevail and property and life and liberty 
be secure where the banner of the Republic 
waves in sovereignty above our new possessions 
in the East." (Great applause.) 

A Voice From Kentucky. 

John W. Yerkes, of Kentucky, was recog- 
nized by Chairman Lodge to second the nomi- 
nation of McKinley. He referred to the fact 
that Kentucky took in the first Convention of 
1856, and said : " Forty years after that body 
adjourned Kentucky for the first time gave her 
electoral vote to a Republican Presidential 
candidate — Major William McKinley. (Ap- 
plause.) Recognized as a citadel of Democracy 
she had capitulated to the Republicans in the 



180 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

noted State campaign of 1895. She was Repub- 
lican in 1896, Republican in 1899, is Republican 
to-day (applause) . and as such seconds this 
nomination. " 

After reference to our new possessions and 
expressions of confidence in McKinley's elec- 
tion in November, Mr. Yerkes closed as fol- 
lows : 

"In 1896 we gave you an old representative 
slave-holding state. By so doing we removed 
one charge against our party, that it was sec- 
tional. The Ohio river was crossed, Republi- 
cans marched southward, and this sectional line 
disappeared from the map. We will do it 
again. (Applause.) We will still show the 
North and the South and the East that Repub- 
licanism — to use language of our distinguished 
chairman — means action, and is always moving 
forward. A Kentuckian, a lover of my native 
state, believing in the integrity and honesty of 
her citizeus, I have the fullest confidence in 
them ; I believe they will make final response 
to right arguments, and that response will be 
made at our polls next November in electing 
electors to vote for President William McKinley 
for re-election." (Applause.) 

Able speeches were also made by Hon. George 
A. Knight, chairman of the California delega- 
tion, and Governor James A. Mount, of Indiana. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 181 

The enthusiasm in the convention was at fever 
heat, and the telling hits made by the speakers 
were roundly applauded. 

Great Demonstration for McKinley. 

The roll of States was called, and every dele- 
gate voted for McKinley. There was some 
cheering as the chairmen of Massachusetts, 
Iowa, New York and Pennsylvania announced 
that the choice of their delegates was "William 
McKinley," and when Hawaii was reached, the 
whole assemblage cheered the delegates from 
the Pacific Islands, now flying the American 
flag. There was no need for the tally clerks to 
add up the totals ; they knew there were 926 
delegates in the Convention, and all of them 
had voted for President McKinley, so Chairman 
Lodge was able to announce, the moment Haw- 
aii's vote was recorded, that "the total vote is 
926. William McKinley has received 926 
votes. It is a unanimous vote, and the Chair- 
man declares that William McKinley is your 
nominee for President of the United States for 
the term beginning March 4, 1901." 

Pandemonium again broke loose. Delegates 
carrying the State standards and plumes par- 
aded around the hall, and a large elephant, 
typical of Republican strength, was borne 
through the aisles. 



182 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

Nomination for Vice-President. 

In nominating Governor Roosevelt for Vice- 
President Colonel Young, of Iowa, spoke as 
follows : 

" Gentlemen of the Convention : I have 
listened with profound interest to the numerous 
indictments pronounced against the Democratic 
party, and as an impartial reader of history I am 
compelled to confess that the indictments are all 
only too true. If I am to judge, however, by the 
enthusiasm of the hour, the Republican relief 
committee sent out four years ago to carry sup- 
plies and succor to the prostrate industries of 
the Republic, has returned to make formal report 
that the duty has been discharged, (applause). 
I could add nothing to this indictment, except to 
say that this unfortunate party through four 
years of legislation and administrative control 
had made it, up to 1896, impossible for an honest 
man to get into debt or to get out of it, (laughter). 

" But, my fellow-citizens, you know my pur- 
pose, you know the heart of this convention. 
The country never called for patriotic sons from 
any given family, but more was offered than 
there was any room for on the enlistment roll. 
When this convention and this great party called 
for a candidate for Vice-President two voices 
responded, one from the Mississippi Valley by 
birth, another by loving affection and adoption. 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 183 

It is my mission, representing that part of the 
great Louisiana purchase to withdraw one of 
these sons and suggest that the duty be placed 
upon the other. 

"I, therefore, withdraw the name of Jonathan 
P. Dolliver, of Iowa, a man born with the thrill 
of the Lincoln and Fremont campaigns in his 
heart and with the power to stir the hearts and 
conscience of men as part of his birthright. We 
turn to this other adopted son of the great 
Middle West, and at this moment I recall that 
two years ago to-day as many men as there are 
men and women in this great hall were on board 
sixty transports lying off Santiago harbor in 
full view of the bay, with Morro Castle looming 
up upon the right and another prominence on 
the left, with the opening of the channel 

between. 

"On board those transports were 20,000 
soldiers that had gone away from our shores to 
liberate another race, to fulfill no obligation but 
that of humanity. 

Regiment of Rough Riders. 

" On the ship Yucatan was that famous regi- 
ment of Rough Riders of the far West and the 
Mississippi Valley (applause.) In command of 
that regiment was that fearless young Amer- 
ican, student, scholar, plainsman, reviewer, 



184 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

historian, statesman, soldier, of the middle 
West by adoption, of New York, by birth. 
That fleet sailed aronnd the point, coming to 
the place of landing, stood off the harbor, two 
years ago to-morrow, and the navy bombarded 
that shore to make a place for landing, and no 
man who lives who was in that campaign as an 
officer, as a soldier, or as a camp follower, can 
fail to recall the spectacle ; and, if he closes his 
eyes he sees the awfnl scenes in that campaign 
in Jnne and Jnly, 1898. 

"Then the landing being completed, there 
were those who stood npon the shore and saw 
these indomitable men land, landing in small 
boats through the waves that dashed against 
the shore, landing without harbor, but land 
they did, with their accoutrements on, and their 
weapons by their sides. And those who stood 
upon that shore and saw these men come on 
thought they could see in their faces, " stranger, 
can you tell me the nearest road to Santiago ? ' 
(Applause.) 

"That is the place they were looking for. 
And the leader of that campaign of one of those 
regiments shall be the name that I shall place 
before the Convention for the office of Vice- 
President of the United States (applause.) 

"Gentlemen of the Convention, I know you 
have been here a long time, and that you have 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 185 

had politics in abundance. I know the desire 
to complete the work of this Convention ; but I 
cannot forbear to say that this occasion has a 
higher significance than one of politics. The 
campaign of this year is higher than politics. 
In fact, if patriotism could have its way, there 
would be but one political party and but one 
electoral ticket in any State of the Union, 
because political duty would enforce it. In 
many respects the years 1898 and 1899 have 
been the great years of the Republic. 

What Patriotism Demands. 

" There is not under any sun or any clime 
any man or government that cares to insult the 
flag of the United States. Not one. We are a 
greater and a broader people on account of these 
achievements. Uncle Sam has been made a 
cosmopolitan citizen of the world. No one ques- 
tions his prowess or his bravery as the result of 
these campaigns, and as the result of the Ameri- 
can spirit. My fellow-citizens, the American 
soldier, ten thousand miles away from home, 
with a musket in his hands, says to the aggres- 
sor, to those who are in favor of tyranny : 'Halt ! 
Who comes there ? ' and the same spirit says to 
the beleaguered hosts of liberty : ' Hold the 
fort, for I am coming ! ' Thus says the spirit 
of Americanism, 



186 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

" Now, gentlemen of the Convention, I place 
before yon this distinguished leader of Repub- 
licanism of the United States ; this leader of 
the aspirations of the people, whose hearts are 
right, and this leader of the aspirations of the 
young men of this country. Their hearts and 
consciences are with this young leader,. whom I 
shall name for the Vice-Presidency of the United 
States — Theodore Roosevelt, of New York." 
(Loud cheering). 

New England for Roosevelt. 

M. J. Murray, of Massachusetts, in seconding 
Roosevelt's nomination spoke as follows : 

" Massachusetts commissions me, through 
her delegation, to speak to you. We who come 
from the old Bay State know and love and 
appreciate the Governor of New York. (Ap- 
plause.) He has many times been welcomed 
within our borders, and we have for him that 
high appreciation which Massachusetts man- 
hood always has for a thorough-going- fighting 
Republican. (Cheers,) We yield to him a full 
measure of devotion, unsurpassed by that of 
any other delegation upon the floor of this Con- 
vention. His life to us is an embodiment of 
those qualities which appeal everywhere to 
American manhood, and which are a sufficient 
guarantee of the kind of public service that he 



REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 1 87 

will render in this new and high position of 
responsibility to the American people. 

"On behalf of the State of Massachu- 
setts, which has furnished to the President of 
the United States one of the best assistants 
that he has enjoyed in his Cabinet (applause), 
mindful of the duty which he expects us 
to perform in this Convention, with the 
heartiest kind of sympathy and regard for the 
voice of this great gathering, the Chairman, on 
behalf of the delegation which has complimented 
me with the privilege, I am now to exercise 
aye, on behalf of all New England, whose 
towns and cities have been responsible for some 
of the character that has entered into the nation's 
life. With all the earnestness that I can com- 
mand I second the nomination of Theodore 
Roosevelt, of New York." 

Washington Goes for Roosevelt. 

In seconding Roosevelt's nomination, J. W. 
Ashton, of Washington State, spoke as follows ; 

" We come here from the great, the growing 
and the mighty Northwest. We come to greet 
my worthy predecessor, the great States of New 
England in the mighty Northeast. We come 
from the gateway of the treasure land of 
Alaska — the land which will make the free 
coinage of silver sink into insignificance. 



188 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

" We have said from the commencement if 
it were possible to secure the nomination and 
the acceptance of Governor Roosevelt, together 
with that grand character of American history, 
the eminent, the illustrious and the patriotic 
soldier and statesman and soldier, William 
McKinley (applause), it would be the greatest 
ticket, the 1 grandest ticket and the strongest 
which can be placed before the American 
people. 

"Now, gentlemen of the Convention, beneath 
the banner of McKinley and Roosevelt the 
West will unite with the mighty East and go 
before the shrine of the people. We have no 
fears. You will find that when the ballot is 
cast next November the West has, with the 
entire country, woven above the girdle of Col- 
umbia the guidon of political power and political 
freedom — you will find that when you count 
the ballots from the States of the setting sun 
they will read for McKinley and Roosevelt, and 
we will clasp that girdle in Republican victory." 

Depew on Roosevelt. 

United States Senator Chauncey M. Depew, 
was selected by the New York delegation to 
withdraw the name of Lieutenant-Governor 
Woodruff and second the nomination of Gov- 
ernor Roosevelt, lyoud calls brought him to 




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REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 189 

the platform and he delivered the spiciest, most 
eloquent speech of the Convention. (His eulogy 
of the Rough Rider will be found in our " Life 
of Roosevelt," printed elsewhere in this volume.) 

Great Uprising for Roosevelt. 

When the roll of states was called, it is need- 
less to say every delegate voted for Roosevelt 
with one exception, and that was himself. A 
demonstration of the wildest and most enthu- 
siastic character, and lasting half an hour, fol- 
lowed the announcement that Roosevelt was the 
nominee for Vice-President. ' 

Palms were waved, the standards of the various 
delegations were hurried to the platform, the 
band attempted to make itself heard amid the 
loud acclaim, processions of excited, cheering 
delegates marched up and down the aisles, and 
the popular New York Governor was con- 
gratulated by as many as could get within reach 

of him. 

The Convention then passed resolutions 
thanking the Mayor and people of Philadelphia 
for making the arrangements for the Convention 
and entertainment of the delegates a complete 
success, and a motion for adjournment was 

carried. 

Senator Hanna, of Ohio, was re-elected Chair- 
man of the Republican National Committee. 



190 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1900. 

TO ROOSEVELT. 

A Colorado poet lias written a spirited poem 
in praise of trie famous Rough Rider. 

Now, doff your hat to Teddy, boys, for he's 

the proper man. 
His life has been a triumph since its starting 

first began. 
His pluck and spirit in the days he roamed 

upon the range 
Has builded up a character no circumstance 

can change. 

From a cowboy on the "round-up" to the Gov- 
ernor of his State 

We've always found a man in him that's 
strictly up to date. 

As a daring " bronco buster," or a Colonel in 
command, 

We'll greet him with McKinley with an open, 
hearty hand. 

He served his country nobly and fired his 

faithful boys 
With patriotic valor, amid the cannon's noise. 
And, as they to him were loyal, in battle's 

fierce array, 
So will the voters prove to be upon election 

day. 

Now doff your hats to Teddy, boys, the man 

with grit and nerve. 
In every office that he fills, the people will 

he serve. 
Progression is his policy, no laggard in the 

race, 
He'll lead us on to victory, whatever be the 

pace. 



Mckinley and koosevelt notified. 191 

Mckinley and roosevelt notified of 

THEIR NOMINATIONS. 

On July 1 2th Senator Lodge, of Massachu- 
setts, stood on the porch of President McKinley, 
at Canton, Ohio, and in the presence of a great 
crowd officially notified him that he was the 
unanimous choice of the Republican National 
Convention for President. The town was gay 
with bunting and there was a large outpouring 

of citizens. 

Senator Lodge's remarks were frequently in- 
terrupted with applause. When he closed and 
President McKinley mounted the stand the as- 
semblage rose and cheered enthusiastically. It 
was some moments before the President could 
begin his remarks. He had a manuscript of his 
speech in his hand, but he referred to it only at 
long intervals. When he mentioned the " new 
peoples under our care " there was a hearty 
burst of applause. 

The President's Response. 
Senator Lodge and Gentlemen of the Notification 

Committee : 

The message which you bring me is one of 
signal honor. It is also a summons to duty. A 
single nomination for the office of President by 
a great party which in thirty-two years out of 



192 McKlNLEY AND BOOSEVELT NOTIFIEI). 

forty has been triumphant at national elections 
is a distinction which I gratefully cherish. To 
receive unanimous renomination by the same 
party is an expression of regard and a pledge of 
continued confidence for which it is difficult to 
make adequate acknowledgment. 

If anything exceeds the honor office of Presi- 
dent of the United States it is the responsibility 
which attaches to it. Having been invested with 
both, I do not underappraise either. Any one 
who has borne the anxieties and burdens of the 
Presidential office, especially in time of national 
trial, cannot contemplate assuming it a second 
time without profoundly realizing the severe 
reactions and the solemn obligations which it 
imposes, and this feeling is accentuated by mo- 
mentous problems which now press for settlement. 

If my countrymen shall confirm the action of 
the convention at our national election in No- 
vember I shall, craving divine guidance, under- 
take the exalted trust, to administer it for the 
interest and honor of the country and the well- 
being of the new peoples who have become the 
objects of our care. The declaration of prin- 
ciples adopted by the convention has my hearty 
approval. At some future date I will consider 
its subjects in detail and will by letter communi- 
cate to your chairman a more formal acceptance 
of the nomination. 



Mckinley and koosevelt notified. 193 

Party Can Be Trusted. 

On a like occasion four years ago I said : 
" The party that supplied by legislation the vast 
revenues for the conduct of our greatest war, 
that promptly restored the credit of the country 
at its close, that from its abundant revenues paid 
off a large share of the debt incurred by this war 
and that resumed specie payments and placed 
our paper currency upon a sound and enduring 
basis can be safely trusted to preserve both our 
credit and currency with honor, stability and in- 
violability. The American people hold the finan- 
cial honor of our government as sacred as our 
flag and can be relied upon to guard it with the 
same sleepless vigilance. They hold its preser- 
vation above party fealty, and have often demon- 
strated that party ties avail nothing when the 
spotless credit of our country is threatened. 

"The dollar paid to the farmer, the wage 
earner and the pensioner must continue forever 
equal in purchasing and debt-paying power to 
the dollar paid to any government creditor. 

" Our industrial supremacy, our productive 
capacity, our business and commercial prosperity, 
our labor and its rewards, our national credit and 
currency, our proud financial honor and our 
splendid free citizenship, the birthright of every 
American, are all involved in the pending cam- 
paign, and thus every home in the land is 
13 



194 Mckinley and eoosevelt notified. 

directly and intimately connected with their pro- 
per settlement. 

Trade Must be Won Back. 

" Our domestic trade must be won back, and 
our idle working people employed in gainful 
occupations at American wages. Our home mar- 
ket must be restored to its proud rank of first in 
the world, and our foreign trade, so precipitately 
cut off by adverse national legislation, reopened 
on fair and equitable terms for our surplus agri- 
culture and manufacturing products. 

" Public confidence must be resumed and the 
skill, energy and the capital of our country find 
ample employment at home. The government 
of the United States must raise money enough 
to meet both its current expenses and increasing 
needs. Its revenues should be so raised as to 
protect the material interests of our people, with 
the lightest possible drain upon their resources 
and maintaining that high standard of civiliza- 
tion which has distinguished our country for 
more than a century of its existence. 

" The national credit, which has thus far for^ 
tunately resisted every assault upon it must and 
will be upheld and strengthened. If sufficient 
revenues are provided for the support of the gov- 
ernment there will be no necessity for borrowing 
money and increasing the public debt." 



Mckinley and koosevelt notified. 195 

Has Kept the Pledges. 

Three and one-half years of legislation and 
administration have been concluded since these 
words were spoken. Have those to whom was 
confided the direction of the government kept 
their pledges? The record is made up. The 
people are not unfamiliar with what has been ac- 
complished. The gold standard has been re- 
affirmed and strengthened. The endless chain 
has been broken and the drain upon our gold 
reserve no longer frets us. The credit of the 
country has been advanced to the highest place 
among all nations. 

We are refunding our bonded debt bearing 
three and four and five per cent, interest at two 
per cent, a lower rate than that of any other 
country, and already more than three hundred 
millions have been so funded, with a gain to 
the government of many millions of dollars. 
Instead of 16 to i, for which our opponents con- 
tended four years ago, legislation has been enacted 
which, while utilizing all forms of our money, 
secures one fixed value for every dollar, and that 
the best known to the civilized world. 

A tariff which protects American labor and in- 
dustry and provides ample revenues has been 
written in public law. We have lower interest 
and higher wages, more money and fewer mort- 
gages. The world's markets have been opened 



196 McKINLEY AND BOOSE VELT NOTIFIED. 

to American products, which go now where they 
have never gone before. We have passed from 
a bond-issuing to a bond-paying nation ; from a 
nation of borrowers to a nation of lenders ; from 
a deficiency in revenue to a surplus ; from fear 
to confidence ; from enforced idleness to profitable 
employment. The public faith has been upheld, 
public order has been maintained. We have 
prosperity at home and prestige abroad. 

Unfortunately, the threat of 1896 has just 
been renewed by the allied parties without abate- 
ment or modification. The gold bill has been 
denounced and its repeal demanded. The menace 
of 16 to 1, therefore, still hangs over us with all 
its dire consequences to credit and confidence, to 
business and industry. The enemies of sound 
currency are rallying their scattered forces. The 
people must once more unite and overcome the 
advocates of repudiation and must not relax their 
energy until the battle for public honor and 
honest money shall again triumph. 

Democrats Condemn Tariff. 

A Congress which will sustain and if need be 
strengthen the present law can prevent a finan- 
cial catastrophe which every lover of the re- 
public is interested to avert. 

Not satisfied with assaulting the currency and 
credit of the government, our political adver- 



McKINLEY AND KOOSEVELT NOTIFIED. 197 

saries condemn the tariff law enacted at the extra 
session of Congress in 1897, known as the Ding- 
ley Act, passed in obedience to the will of the 
people expressed at the election in the preceding 
November, a law which at once stimulated onr 
industries, opened the idle factories and mines 
and gave to the laborer and to the farmer fair re- 
turns for their toil and investment. Shall we go 
back to a tariff which brings deficiency in our 
revenues and destruction to our industrial enter- 
prises ? 

Faithful to its pledges in these internal affairs, 
how has the government discharged its inter- 
national duties ? 

Our platform of 1896 declared " the Hawaiian 
Islands should be controlled by the United States 
and no foreign power should be permitted to in- 
terfere with them." 

This purpose has been fully accomplished by 
annexation, and delegates from those beautiful 
islands have participated in the convention for 
which you speak to-day. In the great confer- 
ence of nations at The Hague we reaffirmed 
before the world the Monroe Doctrine and our 
adherence to it and our determination not to par- 
ticipate in the complications of Europe. We 
have happily ended the European alliance in 
Samoa, securing to ourselves one of the most 
valuable harbors in the Pacific Ocean, while the 



198 Mckinley and eoosevelt notified. 

open door in China gives to us fair and equal 
competition in the vast trade of the Orient. 
Some things have happened which were not 
promised, nor even foreseen, and our purposes in 
relation to them must not be left in doubt. 

Our Island Possessions. 

A just war has been waged for humanity and 
with it have come new problems and responsi- 
bilities. Spain has been ejected from the West- 
ern Hemisphere and our flag floats over her 
former territory. Cuba has been liberated and 
our guarantees to her people will be sacredly 
executed. A beneficent government has been 
provided for Porto Rico. The Philippines are 
ours and American authority must be supreme 
throughout the archipelago. There will be am- 
nesty broad and liberal, but no abatement of our 
rights, no abandonment of our duty. There 
must be no scuttle policy. 

We will fulfill in the Philippines the obliga- 
tions imposed by the triumphs of our arms and 
by the treaty of peace ; by international law, by 
the nation's sense of honor, and, more than all, 
by the rights, interests and conditions . of the 
Philippine people themselves. No outside inter- 
ference blocks the way to peace and a stable gov- 
ernment. The obstructionists are here, not else- 
where. They may postpone, but they cannot 



Mckinley and roosevelt notified. 199 

defeat the realization of the high purposes of this 
nation to restore order to the islands and to 
establish a just and generous government, in 
which the inhabitants shall have the largest par- 
ticipation for which they are capable. 

The organized forces which have been misled 
into rebellion have been dispersed by our faithful 
soldiers and sailors and the people of the islands, 
delivered from anarchy, pillage and oppression, 
recognize American sovereignty as the symbol 
and pledge of peace, justice, law, religious free- 
dom, education, the security of life and property 
and the welfare and prosperity of their several 
communities. 

Principle Reasserted. 

We re-assert the early principle of the Repub- 
lican party, sustained by unbroken judicial pre- 
cedents, that the representatives of the people in 
Congress assembled have full legislative power 
over territory belonging to the United States 
subject to the fundamental safeguards of liberty, 
justice and personal rights, and are vested with 
ample authority to act " for the highest interests 
of our nation and the people entrusted to its 
care." The doctrine, first proclaimed in the 
cause of freedom, will never be used as a weapon 
for oppression. I am glad to be assured by you 
that what we have done in the Far East has the 
approval of the country. 



200 Mckinley and eoosevelt notified. 

The sudden and terrible crisis in China calls 
for the gravest consideration, and you will not 
expect from me now any further expression than 
to say that my best efforts shall be given to the 
immediate purpose of protecting the lives of our 
citizens who are in peril, with the ultimate object 
of the peace and welfare of China, the safeguard- 
ing of all our treaty rights and the maintenance 
of those principles of impartial intercourse to 
which the civilized world is pledged. I cannot 
conclude without congratulating my countrymen 
upon the strong national sentiment which finds 
expression in every part of our common country 
and the increased respect with which the Ameri- 
can name is greeted throughout the world, 

Moving in Untried Paths. 

We have been moving in untried paths, but 
our steps have been guided by honor and duty. 
There will be no turning aside, no wavering, no 
retreat. No blow has been struck except for lib- 
erty and humanity and none will be. We will 
perform without fear every national and interna- 
tional obligation. 

The Republican party was dedicated to freedom 
forty-four years ago. It has been the party of 
liberty and emancipation from that hour ; not of 
profession, but of performance. It broke the 
shackles of 4,000,000 slaves and made them free, 



Mckinley and eoosevelt notified. 201 

and to the party of Lincoln has come another 
supreme opportunity which it has bravely met in 
the liberation of 10,000,000 of the human family 
from the yoke of imperialism. In its solution of 
great problems, in its performance of high 
duties, it has had the support of members of all 
parties in the past and confidently invokes their 
co-operation in the future. 

Permit me to express, Mr. Chairman, my most 
sincere appreciation of the complimentary terms 
in which you convey the official notice of my 
nomination, and my thanks to the members of 
the committee and to the great constituency 
which you represent fcwr this additional evidence 
of their favor and support. 

ROOSEVELT NOTIFIED OF HIS NOMINATION. 

Governor Roosevelt was officially notified 
of his nomination for the Vice Presidency at 
his country home, Sagamore, near Oyster Bay. 
Shortly after 12 o'clock Senator Wolcott called 
the committee to the porch. There in the cool 
shade of the awnings and vines he read the formal 
notification in his clear and resonant voice. 

When Senator Wolcott concluded Governor 
Roosevelt stepped a pace fonvard and replied 
His voice was clear and firm, and as he proceeded 
there were numerous interruptions of applause. 
He said : 



202 mckinley and eoosevelt notified. 

Mr. Chairman : — I accept the honor conferred 
upon me with the keenest and deepest apprecia- 
tion of what it means, and above all of the res- 
ponsibility that goes with it. Everything that it 
is in my power to do will be done to secure the 
re-election of President McKinley, to whom it 
has been given in this crisis of the national his- 
tory to stand for and embody the principles which 
lie closest to the heart of every American worthy 
of the name. 

This is very much more than a mere party 
contest. We stand at the parting of the ways, 
and the people have now to decide whether they 
shall go forward along the path of prosperity and 
high honor abroad, or whether they will turn their 
backs upon what has been done during the past 
three years ; whether they will plunge this coun- 
try into an abyss of misery and disaster, or what 
is worse than even misery and disaster — shame. 

Stands on the Record. 

I feel that we have a right to appeal not merely 
to Republicans, but to all good citizens, no matter 
what may have been their party affiliations in the 
past, and to ask them on the strength of the re- 
cord that President McKinley has made during 
the past three years, and on the strength of the 
threat implied in what was done at Kansas City 
a few days ago, to stand shoulder to shoulder 



Mckinley and koosevelt notified. 203 

with, us, perpetuating the conditions under which 
we have reached a degree of prosperity never be- 
fore attained in the nation's history and under 
which, abroad, we have put the American flag on 
a level which it never before in the history of the 
country has been placed. 

For these reasons I feel we have a right to look 
forward with confident expectation to what the 
verdict of the people will be next November, and 
to ask all men to whom the well being of the 
country and the honor of the national name are 
dear, to stand with us as we fight for prosperity 
at home and the honor of the flag abroad. 

Honored by His Party. 

A round of applause broke out as the Governor 
concluded, but he checked it instantly by saying : 

u Gentlemen, one moment, please. Here, Ned," 
he cried to Senator Wolcott, " this is not to the 
national committee, but I want to say this to my 
friends. Friends of my own state who are here, 
just let me say how I appreciate seeing so many 
of you here to-day. I want to say I am more 
than honored and pleased at having been made a 
candidate for Vice President on the national 
ticket, but you cannot imagine how badly I feel 
at leaving the men with whom I have endeavored 
and worked for civic decency and righteousness 
and honesty in New York." 



Hon. WILLIAM J. BRYAN: 



Nominee of the Democratic Party for President. 

IN July, 1900, the youngest man ever nominated 
for the Presidency by any influential party 
received a majority of the votes in the National 
Democratic Convention at Kansas City. History 
in this instance repeated itself, as Mr. Bryan re- 
ceived the nomination for the Presidency at Chicago 
in 1896. At that time it was his advocacy of sil- 
ver coinage which turned the thought of the Con- 
vention toward him, and secured for him the proud 
position of the leader of the Democracy. 

The canvass in 1896 was an exceedingly warm 
one, and Mr. Bryan showed remarkable powers of 
endurance, as well as unusual ability, throughout 
that exciting campaign. He was positive, untir- 
ing, and able to command large audiences to hear 
his speeches. 

Mr. Bryan was born in Salem, Marion County, 

111., on March 19, 1860. At the age of fifteen he 

entered Whipple Academy at Jacksonville; in 

1877 he entered Illinois College, and graduated 

valedictorian in 1881. For the next two years 

he attended the Union Law College, Chicago, 

*1 



>* 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



studying in the office of Hon. Lyman Trumbull. 
After graduation he began practice at Jackson- 
ville. 

In 1887 he removed to Lincoln, Neb., and 




WILLIAM J. BRYAN. 



became a member of the law firm of Talbot & Bryan. 
He was elected to Congress in the First Nebraska 
District in 1890, over W. J. Connell, of Omaha, and 
was re-elected in 1892 over Allen W. Field, of 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. *3 

Lincoln. In 1894 Mr. Bryan declined a third 
nomination, and was nominated by the Dem- 
ocratic State Convention for the United States 
Senate by the unanimous vote of the Convention. 
The Republicans, however, had a majority in the 
Legislature, and Bryan was defeated for the 
Senatorship. Since Mr. Bryan's Congressional 
term expired he has given his time exclusively to 
spreading the doctrine of free silver. 

He first appeared in the political arena of 
Nebraska in the campaign of 1888, when he 
stumped the First District for J. Sterling Morton, 
nominee for Congress. The same year he declined 
a nomination for Lieutenant-Governor. On July 
30, 1890, he was nominated for Congress, and 
wrote a platform on which he ran. Nobody but 
himself thought he could be elected. He stumped 
the district on the tariff issue, and won fame as a 
political orator throughout the State. This beauti- 
ful language has been used by an admirer to 
describe his graces as an orator : 

Bryan the Orator. 

" Bryan neglects none of the accessories of 
oratory. Nature richly dowered him with rare 
grace. He is happy in attitude and pose. His 
gestures are on Hogarth's line of beauty. Melli- 
fluous is the word that most aptly describes his 
voice. It is strong enough to be heard by thou- 



4* THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 

sands; it is sweet enough to charm those least 
inclined to music. It is so modulated as not to 
vex the ear with monotony, and can be stern or 
pathetic, fierce or gentle, serious or humorous with 
the varying emotions of its master. 

"In his youth Bryan must have had a skillful 
teacher in elocution, and must have been a decile 
pupil. ■ He enriches his speeches with illustrations 
from the classics or from the common occurrences 
of every-day life with equal felicity and facility 
Some passages from his orations are gems, and arc 
being used as declamations by boys at school. 
But his crowning gift as an orator is his evident 
sincerity. He is candor incarnate, and thoroughly 
believes what he says himself." 

His Home and Family. 

Mr. Bryan lives well in a commodious dwelling 
in the fashionable part of Lincoln. His family 
consists of Mrs. Bryan and their three children, all 
of whom are bright and pleasing. The study, in 
which both Mr. and Mrs. Bryan have desks, is a 
very attractive room. It is filled with books, 
statuary and mementoes of campaigns. There 
are busts or portraits of noted men, and there 
are two butcher knives which Mr. Bryan used in 
the campaign with Field to refute the latter's 
boast of the effects of high protection. 

In 1895 Mr. Bryan was asked if he had any 










WILLIAM C. WHITNEY 




ARTHUR P. GORMAN 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. * 5 

aspirations looking to the White House, and he 
said : " No ; I have no wish to be a Presidential 
candidate, neither now nor in the years to come. 
My whole thought now is centred on my family 
and my profession, so far as my personal desires go. 
I was brought up in the country, and I wish my 
children to have some of the same rearing. They 
are now of the age when they need a father's care, 
and I wish to get into practice again, for I very 
much enjoy the law, which has been necessarily 
abandoned during my four years in Washington." 

The Populists Like Him. 

This is the way an admirer of Bryan describes 
one of his triumphs : 

"It was Mr. Bryan who achieved the g* latest 
triumph within his party when, in the State Con- 
vention in 1804, by common consent he took 
the leadership. It was he who advised his fol- 
lowers to indorse the candidacy of Silas A„ Hol- 
comb, who had been nominated by the Populists 
of Nebraska for the office of Governor. It was 
also upon Mr. Bryan's recommendation that the 
same convention indorsed the candidacy of other 
men on the Populist ticket. 

"What he did then gave Nebraska the first 
Populist Governor and worked the defeat of 
the Republicans, the sole object sought by Mr. 
Bryan and his followers. The consistent course 



6* THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 

of Mr. Bryan as a silver advocate, and the kindly 
feeling he has all along, as a Democrat, evinced 
for the Populists of Nebraska, have made him 
many friends in the Populist Party throughout 
the West. He will, more than any other Western 
man, draw support from the Populist organization." 

His Populistic Leaning. 

The following extracts from speeches of Mr. 
Bryan show how close his approach is to Populism 
of the most pronounced kind : 

"The gentlemen who are so fearful of socialism 
when the poor are exempted from an income tax, 
view with indifference those methods of taxation 
which give the rich a substantial exemption. They 
weep more because $15,000,000 are to be collected 
from the incomes of the rich than they do at the 
collection of $300,000,000 upon the goods which 
the poor consume. And when an attempt is made 
to equalize these burdens, not fully, but partially 
only, the people of the South and West are called 
Anarchists. I deny the accusation, sir. It is 
among the people of the South and West, on the 
prairies and on the mountains, that you find the 
staunchest supporters of government and the best 
friends of law and order. 

" You may not find among these people the 
great fortunes which are accumulated in cities, 
nor will you find the dark shadows which these 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. *? 

fortunes throw over the community, but you will 
find those willing to protect the rights of property, 
even while they demand that property shall bear 
its share of taxation. You may not find among 
them as much of wealth, but you will find men 
who are not only willing to pay their taxes in 
support of the Government, but are willing when- 
ever necessary to offer up their lives in its defense. 
These people, sir, whom you call Anarchists because 
they ask that the burdens of government shall be 
equally borne, these people have ever borne the 
cross on Calvary and saved their country with their 

blood." 

Two Additional Gems. 

" The poor man who takes property by force," 
Bryan said in one of his silver-tongued deliverances, 
"is called a thief, but the creditor who can by legisla- 
tion make a debtor pay a dollar twice as large as he 
borrowed is lauded as the friend of sound currency. 
The man who wants people to destroy the Govern- 
ment is an Anarchist, but the man who wants the 
Government to destroy the people is a patriot." 

" I may be in error," said Bryan on another occa- 
sion, "but in my humble judgment he who would 
rob man of his necessary food or pollute the 
springs at which he quenches his thirst, or steal 
away from him his accustomed rest, or condemn 
his mind to the gloomy night of ignorance, is no 
more an enemy of his race than the man who, deal 



8* THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 

to the entreaties of the poor and blind to the 
suffering he would cause, seeks to destroy one of 
the money metals given by the Almighty to supply 
the needs of commerce." 

Several Thoughts Mirrored. 

Bryan's thoughts are mirrored in the following 
signed dispatches sent out by him before his name 
was presented at Chicago : 

" There was a time when President Cleveland 
had to face the question of turning either to the 
Plutocracy or to the Democracy, Had he been a 
Jackson or a Jefferson he would have turned to the 
common people, and there would have been no need 
of the Convention hereto-day to repudiate his policy. 

" Those who have been heretofore recognized as 
Democrats and who do not wish to stand with us 
in carrying out the provisions of the Chicago 
platform must find a location for themselves. 

"I have but little doubt that the gold 
Democrats and all who choose to follow tiiem will 
have a ticket of their own, and will insist that 
they are the Democratic Party. They think the 
silver sentiment a craze, and that it is going to 
blow over, but they are mistaken. 

" That makes me think of a story. Out in the 
Northwest, where the wind is high, the fences are 
sometimes blown down and sometimes the houses 
are blown over. A man was going along one day 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. *9 

and found another building a fence. He was put- 
ting it up solidly, with mortar and stone. The 
man said : i You are putting a good deal of time 
on that fence. Don't you. think it will blow over ?' 
And the man who was building the fence replied : 
* That is just the way I am building it. It is five 
feet wide and four feet high, and when it blows 
over it will be one foot higher than it is now.' 
That is the way they are building this silver 
craze. It is wider than it is high, and when it does 
blow over it will be higher than it is now. 

" I am not a believer in either free silver or gold, 
but am an out-and-out bimetallist. It is clearly 
apparent to me that financial stringency does not 
hinge on the amount of money in circulation, but 
rather on the influences that control circulation. 
The very best times we ever had occurred when 
there was a very low rate of money per capita in 
circulation." 

As to the Farmer. 

" We have already suffered grievously because 
of the fall in prices. The last census shows a 
decrease in the proportion of farm owners, and an 
increase in the proportion of farm tenants. It 
also shows a farm mortgage debt which is truly 
alarming. The continued appreciation of gold — 
that is, the continual fall in prices — increases the 
number of tenants and makes harder every year 
the life of the farmer. 



10* THE DEMOCRATIC PAETY. 

" He who aids in increasing landlordism in this 
country hastens the overthrow of the Republic, 
for free government will not long survive when a 
few own the land and means of support, while the 
many are tenants at will. No one would dare to 
propose a law increasing the number of dollars 
to be paid by a debtor. To increase the size 
of the dollar by legislation has exactly the same 
effect. 

" That dollar will soon cease to be called honest, 
which grows fatter every day. Tariff reform grew 
strong in the West and South, while it was 
rejected as a heresy in the East. It took years of 
struggle to carry the cause of tariff reform across 
the Alleghenies, but the. principle conquered in 
time. 

" The protective policy was never as disastrous 
to the agricultural classes as a gold standard would 
be, for, while protection lessened the stream, gold 
monometallism would dry up the very fountain of 
prosperity. 

" The friends of the ' gold and silver coinage of 
the Constitution ' need not be discouraged. Strong 
in the all-conquering might of right, their prin- 
ciples will triumph, and that triumph will be 
signalized by a return of prosperity to the great 
masses of our people. ' Tariff reform ' and ' the 
coinage of the Constitution ' will remain the two 
great issues until secured/' 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. *H 

A Giant Among Giants. 

In 1890, when only 30 years of age, Bryan was 
elected a member of the House from the First Dis- 
trict of Nebraska, where he located immediately 
after his admission to the bar. During the con- 
sideration of the single tariff bills, which were 
brought to the House during the first session of 
that Congress, Mr. Bryan electrified his colleagues 
by the force and vigor of his utterances, his 
ntimate knowledge of economic matters, the grace- 
fulness of his oratory and his ability to sustain 
Mmself with credit against the ablest debaters upon 
the Republican side of the chamber. His time, on 
that occasion, was repeatedly extended, and he 
spoke in all several hours. 

He awoke the next morning to find himself 
famous. Nor was it an ephemeral fame. He 
became from that day a conspicuous figure in a 
House which included such giants of debate as 
Breckinridge, of Kentucky ; Bourke Cockran, and 
John R. Fellows, of New York; Dingley and 
Reed, of Maine ; Springer, of Illinois ; Lodge, of 
Massachusetts ; Oates, of Alabama, and William 
L. Wilson, of West Virginia, who afterward held 
the office of Postmaster-General. 

Wife of the Nominee. 

One of the women most talked about in all sec- 
tions of the country to-day is Mrs. William Jen- 



12* THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 

nings Bryan, wife of the Democratic nominee for 
President of the United States. People who have 
seen and know Mrs. Bryan think she is more than 
a wife to the Democratic standard-bearer. They 
regard her as his adviser, assistant, companion and 
friend — a woman of extraordinary intellectual abil- 
ity, strong in character, feminine withal and a lov- 
ing mother. 

Mrs. Bryan's head is the most noticeable thing 
about her. It is very shapely, and the heavy dark 
brown hair is always brushed smoothly back frot 
a very hHa, full forehead. The hair is thick, soft 
and fine, and simply coiled into a mass on top o' 
the head. Mrs. Bryan isn't pretty nor handsome, 
but she has a strikingly intelligent and strong face. 
The eyes are dark and large and expressive. The 
nose is large with good width between the eyes. 
The mouth and chin might almost have been cast 
in the same mould as Bryan's own, so striking is 
the resemblance in firmness and determination. 

Mrs. Bryan would sacrifice and endure anything 
once she had made up her mind that a thing was 
right. She has ideals and will consider her hus- 
band's nomination as righteous and a step toward 
what the Bryans maintain is the correction of the 
wrongs of the masses of the people. She has a 
sweet and well-trained voice in talking, and the 
men and women who penetrate her reserve, appre- 
ciate her honesty of purpose and sincerity. She 




HON. J. B. RICHARDSON 

DEMOCRATIC LEADER IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 




COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY ROCKWOOD, N. Y. 

RICHARD CROKER 

WELL KNOWN DEMOCRATIC LEADER 






THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. *13 

despises shams of every kind, and, above all, is 
natural and unaffected. 

It would require more than the possibility cf 
ruling in the White House to turn this woman's 
head. With all this Mrs. Bryan is not at all as- 
sertive. She might elect to run White House affairs 
according to her own ideas and not after the man 
ner of so-called official society, but no one who 
came in contact with her could help respecting her 
and in time admiring her character. 

Bryan and all his friends admit the wife has 
held up the hands of her husband more than effec- 
tively, and Bryan himself takes no praise that 
does not include his wife. Briefly, she is a pale- 
faced, intellectual slip of a woman. She has an 
immense amount of determination and silent acr- 
gressiveness, is rather studious and very reserved. 
She does not care for fashion or society, and pays 
no attention whatever to either. 

Before her marriage to Bryan she was Mary 
Baird. They first met and loved in Illinois. When 
they were married and went to Nebraska to live 
the husband studied law. So did Mrs. Bryan, and 
they studied together. Then Bryan found himself 
getting into politics, but Mrs. Bryan kept on with 
her law studies, took her examinations and was 
admitted to practice. All this was done that she 
might work with and help her husband. 

In this connection Mrs. Bryan said : " It amused 



14* THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 

me after I was graduated to see the women in our 
town. Of course it was then a little unusual for a 
woman to be admitted to practice. My friends 
called in numbers on me, and it was queer to see 
how they manoeuvred to approach the subject. 
About half of them finally got to it, but one and 
all seemed to think that I was a bigger curiosity 
than a mummy." 

Mrs. Bryan can be very sarcastic when suffi- 
ciently roused, and at any time will say droll witty 
things with only a gleam of a smile in her dark eyes. 
She is the mother of three children, and is very 
domestic in her inclinations. When it was dis- 
covered that she was a lawyer, a Congressman who 
meant to be very agreeable inquired of her with 
what line of law she was most familiar. 

Mrs. Bryan's quick answer was : " Domestic re- 
lations, sir." 

Attention was first drawn to Mrs. Bryan at the 
time Bryan made his famous tariff speech in the 
House. Inside of a few hours, in the midst of the 
adulation he was receiving, Bryan generously de- 
clared that his wife deserved a share in the praise. 
A week before the big speech was made Bryan 
had delivered a eulogy on a dead colleague. Mrs. 
Bryan then, unknown even to her husband's col- 
leagues, sat in the gallery and carefully noted the 
volume of tone required by Bryan to fill the hall. 
Anything more deliberate could hardly be con- 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. *15 

ceived. By means of signals the husband on the 
floor and the wife in the gallery communicated, 
and he increased or lowered his voice at her sug- 
gestion until she had satisfied herself that he had 
struck the most effective tone. 

When Bryan began his speech his wife was in 
the gallery. At first he held a low voice. Mrs. 
Bryan nodded for fuller tones. Her eyes never 
left his face except to study the effect some sen- 
tence might have on the House. From time to 
time Bryan glanced for encouragement at the pale 
face of the woman in the gallery, and when it was 
over there was one quick glance of intelligence ; 
both knew that their work had been well done, 
and the woman sank back in her seat almost over- 
come by the intensity of her satisfaction and relief. 

Referring to the Democratic ideas of the Bryans, 
a popular writer says : " They went out very 
seldom in Washington, and then only on official 
occasions. I never heard of Mrs. Bryan appear- 
ing in evening dress during their Washington life, 
don't think she ever possessed a low-cut gown, nor 
a dress with silk linings, and Bryan surely never 
has owned a dress suit. They never attended fash- 
ionable dinners and certainly gave none themselves. 

" The Bryans when in Washington lived in a 
small quiet boarding-house on Capitol Hill, three 
blocks from the Capitol itself. There was a real- 
estate office in a part of the ground floor. During 



16* THE DEMOCRATIC PAKTY. 

their stay in Washington they had rooms on the 
second floor. Mrs. Bryan always wore the simplest 
gray, brown and black dresses made in the plainest 
fashion. She wore no jewels because they were 
living as economically as possible and had no 
money to waste in such frivolity. Then Mrs. 
Bryan's tastes did not run in that direction." 
RESULT OF ELECTION. 
After a very exciting campaign in 1896, in 
which all the resources of both parties were put 
forth with unusual energy, Mr. Bryan was de- 
feated by Mr. McKinley and the hopes of the De- 
mocracy that had been centred in him were frus- 
trated. The defeat was emphatic, but Mr. Bryan 
refused to retire from the field and continued from 
year to year to agitate the questions that had been 
embodied in the Chicago platform of 1896, which 
he warmly advocated, and on the merits of which 
the Democracy had made its appeal to the country. 
As the time for another Presidential election 
drew near it became evident that Mr. Bryan, 
having a strong hold upon the Democracy, 
would receive the nomination again, and would be 
the standard bearer of his party. It was felt that 
no abler champion of Democracy could be secured 
to lead the opposition to the Administration. There 
being a general agreement upon this point, little 
remained to be done in the Convention but to 
ratify the nomination already made by the party. 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 17 

Most of Mr. Bryan's time since 1896 has been 
occupied in lecturing. He is a fine orator, his 
elocution closely approaching the pulpit variety. 
In the Spanish war he raised a regiment, the 
Third Nebraska, of which he was made Colonel. 
The regiment, however, was not ordered outside 
the United States, and Bryan resigned his 
command. 

The Populists nominated him for President in 
May last. He has always been held in esteem by 
that party, whose candidate for President he 
stumped for and voted for in 1892, in opposition 
to President Cleveland. He has always claimed 
that he did this at the suggestion of the Demo- 
cratic managers, who felt that the Populists had a 
better chance of defeating the Republicans in 
Nebraska than the Democrats had. 

2-D 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



OF 



Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson 



Adlai Ewing Stevenson, of Illinois, whom 
the Democrats nominated for Vice-President at 
Kansas City, was born in Christian County, Ken- 
tucky, October 23, 1835. His family has been 
distinguished in the history both of Virginia and 
Kentucky. He received his early education in 
the common schools of Kentucky. 

The old saying that " the child is the father of 
the man " is fully illustrated in the case of Mr. 
Stevenson. As a boy he was studious, thoughtful, 
with a high sense of honor, and although full of 
life and animal spirits there was something about 
him that attracted attention, and instinctively every 
one felt that he was a young man to be trusted. 

In 1852 Mr. Stevenson's family moved to 
Bloomington, 111., where he had excellent educa- 
tional advantages. He was for some time a stu- 
dent in the Illinois Wesleyan University, but com- 
pleted his education at Centre College, Danville, 
18* 



LIFE A>'D PUBLIC SERVICES OF *19 

Ky., where he was a classmate of Senator Black- 
burn. He was admitted to the bar in 1858, and 
immediately began the practice of law at Meta- 
tnora, 111., where he remained until 1868. In 
18^1 he was appointed Master in Chancery, and 
held the office for tour years. In 1864 he was 
elected District Attorney, which position he also 
held four years, at the end of his term moving to 
Bloomington, 111., where he formed a partnership 
with his cousin, Hon. James 8. Ewing. The firm 
soon attain^! the first rank at the McLean Counts 
bar, and enjoyed a very large and lucrative prac- 
tice. 

MR STEVENSON'S MARRIAGE. 

Mr. Stevenson was married in 1866 to Miss 
Letitia Green, daughter of Dr. Lewis W. Green, 
an eminent Presbyterian minister, who was Presi- 
dent of Centre College, Danville. Ky. In 1864 
Mr. Stevenson was a Presidential Elector on the 
Democratic ticket. In 1874, in a district reliably 
Republican by about 3,000 majority, he was nomi- 
nated for Congress and defeated the Republican 
candidate by 1,285 majority. 

He was one of the first advocates of Greenback - 
ism. and ran as an Independent on this issue, which 
explains the great strength which he developed. 
He was renominated for 1 _ 38 in 1876, but this 
bring a Presidential year the party lines were 
closely drawn, and hr was beaten by about 250 
Surality. 



20* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

He was renominated in 1878 by the Greenback- 
Labor party, and indorsed by the Democrats, 
carrying every county in his district, his own 
county, which in 1876 gave Hayes 2,000 majority, 
and in 1880 gave Garfield over 2,000 majority, 
casting its vote for him. 

DEFEATED FOR CONGRESS. 

In 1880 he was renominated for Congress. 
Although this was a presidential year, he was 
beaten by but little more than 200 votes. Before 
the next election the State was redistricted by a 
legislature which had a Republican majority. On 
account of Mr. Stevenson's popularity, he was 
placed in a district every county of which was Re- 
publican ; Garfield's majority therein having been 

over 2,700. 

In 1882, in this new district, without a Demo- 
cratic county in it, Mr. Stevenson yielded to the 
desire of his party, and once more made the race 
for Congress. He came within 350 votes of carry- 
ing his district. This was his last candidacy for 
Congress. In the following election his old oppo- 
nent was re-elected by over 2,700 majority. These 
elections not only demonstrated Mr. Stevenson's 
strength with his own party, but his ability to win 
votes from his opponents as well. 

Before he had attained his majority, Mr. Steven- 
eon had made the large Irish and German popula- 
tion in his section his special friends by his able 
and eloquent speeches, denouncing the proscrip- 




BENJAMIN R. TUXMAN 





HORACE BOIES 



I 



LIFE AND PUBLIC XEilYi^E* OF 






tive policy of the Know- Nothings. In 1884 he 
was a delegate to the Democratic National Con- 
vention, and after the election he was pressed by 
his friends for the position of First Assistant 
Postmaster-General. He held this office during 
Mr. Cleveland's entire administration, showing a 
remarkable energy in the removal of Republican 

postmasters. 

After retiring from the Post-Office Department, 
Mr. Stevenson returned to Bloomington, his former 
residence. Mr. Hayes in 1877 appointed him a 
member of the Board to inspect the Military 
Academv at West Point. The Illinois State Con- 
vention elected him one of the delegates-at-large 
to the National Democratic Convention in 1892. 
He was serving in that capacity when nominated 
for the Vice-Presidency. 

OVATION TO MR. STEVENSON. 

Mr. Stevenson, during the Convention, had 
been at the Sherman House, but about half-past 
four o'clock on the day of his n .ruination, having 
received assurances that his nomination was sure, 
he repaired to the Palmer House with a few friends. 
While there he learned of the action of the Con- 
vention, and then it was suggested that he hold an 
informal reception, as there were numerous dele- 
gates and friends from Illinois and other States 
who were anxious to congratulate him. Ac- 
cordingly the party went to the Egyptian parlor 
heretofore devoted to the use of the National Com- 



22* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

mittee, and a detail of police having been assigned 
to duty, the reception was fairly on. 

Surrounding General Stevenson were many 
Illinois and Kentucky friends. As he was born 
in Kentucky, it was natural that he should have a 
warm place in his heart for all Kentuckians, and 
it is even said that it was because of this accident 
of birth that made Colonel Henry Watterson feel 
so kindly toward him. 

KISSES FEOM PEETTY GIELS. 

One of the incidents of the reception was the 
advent of four pretty girls from Bloomington, who 
rushed upon the nominee and kissed him. Mr. 
Stevenson did not flinch, but stood the ordeal man- 
fully. As soon as it became generally known that 
he was in the hotel a steady stream of people swept 
up from the lobby, and guided by the police detail, 
passed into the parlor and shook hands with him. 
Many of the visitors were members of the Indiana 
delegation, and it was evident from the smile 
that illuminated their faces they were greatly 
pleased. 

The people came up thick and fast, and during 
the hour and a half that Mr. Stevenson stood there 
nearly 2,000 people shook him by the hand. 
Delegate Lyon Karr and other Illinois delegates 
came in with the crowd full of enthusiasm, having 
resurrected an old badge used four years before 
when Stevenson was mentioned for the office of 
Vice-President, This was displayed at the end of 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF *28 

an umbrella. It bore the words, " For Vice-Presi- 
dent, Adlai E. Stevenson." 

Delegates from every corner of the United 
States called on him. Young ladies, with their 
friends, came to shake his hand. Newspaper men 
gathered round him by the score, note-book in 
hand, waiting for an interview. He received 
everybody courteously, kindly, and in the best of 
good humor. Clearly he was much gratified at 
the outcome of the Convention, and he attempted 
no concealment of the fact. 

HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS. 

His benevolent face beamed with satisfaction as 
his tall form towered over the heads of the throng 
who came to rejoice with him. The delegates and 
politicians of the State, those who were enthusias- 
tically for him, as well as those who doubted the 
expediency of presenting his name, expressed 
themselves as delighted with the result. 

Mr. Stevenson and a few of his friends about 
seven o'clock retired to a private room, where 
nearly 50 congratulatory telegrams were brought 
him. They were from all parts of the United 
States. After the enthusiasm had died fevn 
somewhat, Mr. Stevenson found time to talk and 
granted an interview. 

NOT A SURPRISE. 

"Was your nomination a surprise to you?" 
" No, I cannot say it was entirely," he answered, 
" for I knew my friends had been working for me 



24* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

several days. Still I cannot say I had any great 
hopes of being the nominee.' ' 

" How do you feel about it ?" 

" I certainly am gratified because of the honor, 
although I feel there are other Democrats in the 
West who are more deserving of the honor than 
myself. It cannot be said that I have been a can- 
didate in the sense of seeking the place, but now 
that I have been offered it I shall certainly not 

decline it." 

" Would you be willing to say how much of a 
part Tammany took in your nomination ?" 

" No," replied General Stevenson, hesitatingly. 
" I do not care to say anything about that. In 
fact, if I tried to say anything I might trespass 
upon the rule of courtesy to some of my near 
and dear friends. I would prefer, therefore, not 
to answer the question." 

" To what do you attribute the turn of affairs in 

your favor ?" 

"Now I can answer that," put in General 
Hardin. " Mr. Stevenson is a very modest man and 
might not care to say anything about it. To tell 
you the truth it was a singularly happy combina- 
tion of circumstances, the right man being here in 
the right place just at the time he was wanted by 
the Convention. That's all there is to it." 

Just at this time several members of the Notifi- 
cation Committee came in and had an informal talk 
with the nominee. They said they would not ask 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF *25 

Mr. Stevenson to set a time for calling upon him 
for the purpose of notifying him formally, as being 
where he could easily be reached the matter could 
be arranged without difficulty. 

MR. STEVENSON IN WASHINGTON. 

Mr. Stevenson is well known in Washington, 
and there, as elsewhere, is very popular. His Con- 
gressional service extended through several terms, 
and he was First Assistant Postmaster-General 
four years. The town is full of his friends, and all 
expressed the hope that he might win at the polls. 

His service in the Post-Office Department 
earned for him a title wholly at variance with his 
enviable and attractive nature. One is apt to con- 
ceive an expert j^olitical headsman as grim and 
heartless, a person who acts without consideration 
or mercy. But Mr. Stevenson, while applying the 
political axe industriously enough in the postal 
service, made no enemies, even among those he 
summoned to the block. He had a way of con- 
vincing the condemned that their time had 
properly come and that his own part in the execu- 
tion was thoroughly justified. 

He was little criticised, even by civil-service re- 
formers, who observed that his appointments 
showed not only his aim to secure good and com- 
petent men for office, but an excellent knowledge 
of men. The postal service branch over which he 
presided was well administered, and he retired with 



26* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

the reputation of duty well done and executive 
ability of a high order. 

A SATISFACTORY DEMOCRAT. 

All this tended to make his nomination for Vice- 
President highly satisfactory to Democratic leaders 
in Congress and to fill them with confidence in the 

ticket's success. . 

Mr Stevenson talked informally in another in- 
terview about what he thought would be the para- 
mount issues of the campaign. He believed that 
the tariff would cut an important figure, as it 
should, with Grover Cleveland, the leading ex- 
ponent of tariff reform, occupying first place on 

the ticket. * 

" I am convinced, though," remarked Mr. bte- 
venson, " that there will be much discussion over 
the Force bill and the dastardly attempt made by 
the Republicans in the Reed Congress to obtain 
party dominion over the Southern States." 

Mr. Stevenson spoke feelingly and strongly in 
denouncing the measure introduced by Henry 
Cabot Lodge and backed by President Harrison 
and the Republican party at large, and he said that 
it was a scheme to turn the South over to negro 
control. He had conducted, years ago, a campaign 
against the Republican policy of reconstruction. 
That was the chief point which he urged in one of 
His early congressional battles and he won upon it. 

PERILS AHEAD. 

He believed that the dangers with which the 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



: 27 



Lodge-Harrison Force bill threatened the South 
were somewhat similar to those perils which over- 
whelmed the South during the days just after the 
war. The South is now growing. Should a Force 
bill be passed there would result political turmoil 
and a period of unrest. Tranquillity might never 
be restored and the growth of the New South would 
be retarded and perhaps checked for a long time. 

Campaign accusations against Mr. Stevenson 
have been flung at him with rancorous vigor. The 
main charge is that he once ran upon a Greenback 
ticket for Congress. He denied this, but never- 
theless some newspapers repeated the accusation. 
Mr. Stevenson again declared that the statement 
is absolutely false. It is true that he was nomi- 
nated for Congress by the Greenbackers in 1874, 
but it is also true that he did not formally or in 
any other way accept their nomination. He ran 
upon the Democratic ticket, and says he made his 
campaign as one opposed to Republican principles. 
That Greenbackers and other non-conformists 
voted for him was something for which he holds 
that he should not be held responsible. In fact, 
he said very frankly that he hoped they would 
vote for him again. The Democrats and the non- 
descripts, including all who were opposed to the 
Republican party in that contest of 1874, elected 
Mr. Stevenson. Although the Republicans had 
generally carneu McLean County by 3,000 ma- 
jority he carried it by 1,200. 



28* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

General McNulta, whom Stevenson defeated fo* 
Congress, said that he always considered Steven- 
son * Democrat, and nothing but a Pemocrat. 

" He is an adroit manager," said Mr. McNulta, 
" and it must be considered simply as clever poli- 
tics that he got the votes of outsiders." 

CHARGES OF GREENBACK HERESY. 

General McNulta is a steadfast Republican, an 
his declaration that Stevenson always has been a 
Democrat must count as a strong point of testi- 
mony in disproving the Greenback heresy charges. 

It is asserted also by some of the Republican 
campaign story-tellers that Mr. Stevenson waa 
opposed to the war for the support of the Union 
This is a lie which the voters of the same county 
to which Lincoln belonged voted upon and de- 
monstrated to be false by electing Mr. Stevenson 
to Congress after the story had been started. It 
was untrue and undeserving of a sensible and 
honest man's consideration. 

He supported every measure tending to advance 
the cause of the Union. He helped to raise a 
regiment to fight against secession and overcome 
the rebellion. 

IMPORTANT TESTIMONY. 

Below will be found some public documents in 
full and in extract, which will show pretty plainly 
what has been Mr. Stevenson's attitude in certain 
political affairs. To begin with, here is a letter 
from the independent Senator, David Davis : 




ROBERT K. RATTISON 




ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SEEVICES OF *29 

" Bloomington, III., October 25, 1880. 
" To Messrs, William Dowmans, James Haines, and 
F. S. Hartkss, 

" Gentlemen :— I regret my inability to attend 
your meeting. The more so because it would have 
afforded me an opportunity to bear personal testi- 
mony to the claim of A. E. Stevenson, who is up 
for re-election to Congress, and who deserves the 
support of .every fair-minded and independent voter. 

" Mr. Stevenson unites in his character and can- 
didacy qualities which Jetferson denned as the 
necessary conditions for properly filling a public 
trust. He is honest, he is capable, and he is faith- 
ful to duty. As a representative, people of this 
district, whether Democrats, Republicans or Na- 
tionalists, have reason to be proud of him, for on 
all test questions he has risen above the narrow re- 
straints of party, guided by the principle of right, 
and is animated by a moral courage that never fal- 
ters in asserting his convictions. 

" The soldier, the soldiers' widows, and the sol- 
diers' children have found in him a vigilant, a 
valuable, and an untiring friend to whose influence 
and efforts they owe the relief that has soothed 
many sorrows. 

" Enjoying the fullest confidence and respect of 
all parties in Congress, he has done very much to 
serve local and State interests. This experience 
will enable him to do more than any new member 
could hope to achieve tor the first term- 



30* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

" If there was no better reason than self interest 
to recommend him, he ought to be returned again, 
but as he stands upon a higher claim and asks the 
approval of an intelligent and just constituency 
upon the merits of his Congressional career, it 
should be given gratefully and generously. 

" With high respect, your obedient servant. 

" David Davis." 

speech in congress. 

The following is a speech delivered by Mr. 
Stevenson February 25, 1881, in the House of 
Representatives : 

" Mr. Speaker: — Congress has pursued a liberal 
policy toward the defenders of our Union in the 
late civil conflict. What has already been accom- 
plished is but the earnest of a more substantial 
meed of justice to be awarded hereafter. 

" I trust that this Congress, nor any which may 
come after it, will pursue other than the most 
generous policy toward the defenders of our Re- 
public. 

" To provide for them when disabled by wounds 
or disease and for their families, when dependent, 
is a sacred duty, an obligation imperative upon the 

Government. _ : _■ . 

" It should be our policy, so clearly defined that 
all men may read, that he who perils life in de- 
fense of this Government is henceforth under 

its guardian care. 

" I have, sir, upon more occasions than one 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OP *31 

urged upon this House the passage of the bill pro- 
viding for the organization of a commission, to the 
end that applicants for pensions may have an 
early disposition of their cases. This will prevent 
vexatious delays, which have become intolerable. 

BOUNTIES FOR SOLDIERS. 

" I had the honor at the beginning of this ses- 
sion to introduce a bill for the equalization of the 
bounties of the Union soldiers, which I trust may 
become a law before the Congress shall expire. 

M But, sir, while we are doing justice to the de- 
fenders of our Union in its late conflict, let us not 
forget the debt of gratitude we owe to the few sur- 
vivors of that gallant little army whose prowess a 
third of a century ago gave glory to our arms and 
added an empire to our national domain." 

Here is Mr. Stevenson's eulogy upon Douo-las 
containing sentences which show how Stevenson 
supported the Union in time of war : 

"I now come to speak of the last great act of his 
life. After the disruption of the Democratic party 
at Charleston and Baltimore Senator Douglas 
was defeated for the Presidency. 

" Well do we all remember the excitement that 
swept wildly over the country immediately preced- 
ing that election. Lincoln was successful, Doug- 
las defeated. 

"Immediately the standard of rebellion was 
raised by South Carolina and other States, and one 
ordinanc of secession after another was passed 



32* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

until seven States were arrayed in open rebellion 
against the Government. 

" In that hour of peril and gloom all eyes were 
turned to Senator Douglas. What course would he 
pursue ? Would he, in this hour of his country's 
danger, prove himself more a patriot than a par- 

tisan ? 

"I AM FOR MY COUNTRY." 

•' The fond hopes of his friends were not disap- 
pointed. He forgot the shaft of calumny that had 
been aimed at him in the late canvass by the 

triumphant party. _ 

" He flung from him the heart-burnings and 
hostilities that had been engendered in that ordeal 
through which he had just passed, and in language 
that sounded the knell of destiny he declared, ' I 
am for my country against all her assailants.' 

" Can you doubt the patriotism of such a man as 
that? The recollections of past friendships and 
associations were obliterated from his mind in a 
moment. Patriotism required the sacrifice, and 
Doucdas was found equal to the emergency. 

" If you have never felt in your hearts a grati- 
tude for Stephen A. Douglas let me picture to you 
what might have been the result of his opposition 
and that of his friends to the present administra- 
tion in its efforts to suppress rebellion. 

" War, desolating war, would have been around 
your own hearthstones. Father would have been 
arrayed against son, brother against brother. The 



LIFE AID PUBLIC SERVICES OB *33 

clang of arms and the heavy tread of hostile sol 
diers might have been heard in your midst and 
the desolating influence of invasion been changed 
from the cottonfields of the South to the cornfields 
of your own State. 

" I challenge history to show evidences of more 
devoted patriotism than was exhibited by Senator* 
Douglas during the few months preceding his 
death. 

" The victor can always afford to be generous, 
but when before did the world ever behold such a 
spectacle, that of the vanquished in the hour of 
defeat rallying his mighty energies tc> the aid oi 
his victorious opponent ? 

OPPOSED TO SECESSION. 

" Less than one year ago Senator Dwiglas, in 
the city of Norfolk, Va., was electrifying au audi- 
ence by the power of his eloquence, surrounded by 
thousands who are now ranked as the enemies of 
our country. A leading lawyer of that city asked 
the following questions : 

" ' If Abraham Lincoln be elected President of 
the United States, would the Southern States b*^ 
justified in seceding from the Union ? ' 

" Instantly he replied : 

" ' I emphatically answer no. The election of a 
man to the Presidency by the American people in 
conformity with the Constitution of the United 
States would not justify any attempt at the disso* 
lution of this glorious confederacy. ' 

3-D 



34* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 



C( i 



Second, If any (the Southern States) secede 
from the Union upon the inauguration of Mr. 
Abraham Lincoln, before he commenced an overt act 
against their constitutional rights, will you advise 
or vindicate resistance by force or by secession ?! 

" ' I answer emphatically that it is the duty of the 
President of the United States and all others in 
authority under him to enforce the laws of the 
United States passed by Congress, and as the courts 
expound them. 

" 'I, as in duty bound by the oath of fidelity to 
the Constitution, would do all in my power to aid 
the Government of the United States in maintain- 
ing the supremacy of the laws against all resist- 
ance to them, come from whatever quarter it might. 
In other words, I think the President of the 
United States should treat all attempts to break 
the Union by resistance to its laws as Old Hickory 
treated the milliners in 1832/ 

DOUGLAS' SOLEMN DECLARATION. 

" Can you, dare you, doubt the patriotism of 
st*eh a man as that ? If so, listen to the words 
utoered in the last speech he ever made : 

" ( I deprecate war, but if it must come I am 
with my country, and for my country under all 
circumstances and in every contingency. In- 
dividual policy must be subordinate to public 
safety. If the war must come, if the bayonet 
must be used to maintain the Constitution, I can 
say before God my conscience is clear. 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF *35 

" ' I have struggled long for a peaceful solution 
of the difficulty. I have not only tendered these 
States what was theirs of right, but I have gone to 
the very extreme of magnanimity.' 

" Thus spoke Stephen A. Douglas when for the 
last time he appeared before his countrymen. If 
after all these evidences of his devotion to his 
country there is still one doubt, to make assurance 
doubly sure let me take you to the scene of his dis- 
solution. 

"The prayers of millions are ascending to heaven 
asking that the hand of death may be stayed and 
he be spared to his country. His couch is sur- 
rounded by loved ones and the tears of friendship 
and affection falling upon his noble brow when she 
to whom he was united by the tenderest tie upon 
earth, bending over him, asked if there was ajiy 
message he desired to send his sons; the dying 
statesman, arousing himself from the stupor of 
approaching dissolution, exclaimed, < Tell them to 
obey the laws and support the Constitution/ 

" What a rich legacy for his children ! Tell 
them to obey the laws and support the Constitu- 
tion. That was a sentiment worthy of a Roman 
Senator ; even when the icy hand of death was 
upon him his whole thought was for his country. 
History can nowhere furnish a parallel." 

STEVENSON'S WAR RECORD. 

Mr. Stevenson's war record is well shown in tliQ 
following letter : 



36* 



HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 



" Chicago, III., Sept. 1, 1874. 
"I have noticed in some of the Bepublican 
papers of Central Illinois a statement that Mr. A. 
E. Stevenson, now a candidate for Congress in the 
Thirteenth District, was, while a resident of Wood- 
ford Connty, a vile secessionist and a bitter oppo- 
nent of the war. 

" As a matter of simple justice to Mr. Stevenson, 
I desire to say that I know the statement to be 
wholly unfounded. I knew him intimately dur- 
ing the entire period of the war, and remember 
well at the breaking out of the war he made a 
speech in favor of the suppression of the rebel- 
lion. 

" In the month of August, 1862, I raised two 
companies in Woodford County, which were after- 
ward a part of the Eighteenth Eegiment of Illi- 
nois Volunteers, of which regiment I was subse- 
quently elected Lieutenant-Colonel. At the time 
I was organizing the companies Mr. Stevenson went 
with me to different points in the country, and by 
public speeches and by his personal influence greatly 
assisted me in procuring enlistments. 

" I never heard it intimated that his sympathies 
were in favor of the rebellion. 

" He was, as I know, an ardent Douglas Demo- 
crat. In 1864 Mr. Stevenson was a candidate for 
State Attorney and was elected, although the dis- 
trict was overwhelmingly Republican. 

" Political excitement then ran high, but it was 




WILLIAM J. BRYAN 

DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR THE PRESIDENCY 




DAVID B. Hllvly 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF *37 

never charged upon him that he had been a sympa- 
thizer with the rebellion. Yours truly, 

" K. J. Swell." 
Colonel Sidwell was the man who worked so 
valiantly for the Union cause. His letter was ad- 
dressed to a local paper. 

THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION AND OREGON. 

The following remarks were made in Congress 
by Mr. Stevenson on the objections to the decisions 
of the Electoral Commission in the case of Oregon, 
February, 1877 : 

" Mr. Speaker, when this Congress assembled in 
December last it witnessed the great American 
people divided upon the question as to which can- 
didate had been lawfully elected to the high office 
of President of the United States. The business 
industries of the great country were paralyzed, 
public confidence was destroyed and the danger of 
civil war was imminent. 

" That Mr. Tilden had received a majority of 
more than 200,000 of the popular vote was not 
disputed. He had secured a majority of the Presi- 
dential electors in the several States, and was law- 
fully entitled to be inducted into this great office. 

"Such was the firm belief of more than one- 
half of the people of this great country % 

" The hour was one of great peril to our institu- 
tions, and many were apprehensive that we were 
but entering into the dark night of anarchy and 
confusion 



38* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

" After many weeks of angry discussion, which 
resulted in still further arousing the passion of the 
people, a measure of adjustment was proposed. It 
was believed that there was still patriotism enough 
left in the American Congress to vouchsafe an 
honorable settlement of this most dangerous ques- 
tion. 

A MEASUEE IN THE INTEEEST OF PEACE. 

"You remember, sir, we all recall at this 
moment how our hopes revived and how gladly 
we hailed the introduction of the bill recom- 
mended by a joint committee on conference of the 
Senate and House of Representatives. It was 
welcomed as the harbinger of peace by the people 
of this great country. 

" Mr. Speaker, I gave that bill my earnest sup- 
port. It had upon this great floor no friends more 
ardent in its advocacy than myself. I believed it 
to be a measure in the interest of peace. 

" I believed that those who framed it as well as 
those who gave it their support upon the floor were 
honest in their statements that no man could afford 
to take the Presidency with a clouded title, and 
that the object of this bill was to ascertain which 
of the candidates was lawfully entitled to the elec- 
toral votes of Florida and Louisiana. 

" I never mistrusted for a moment that states- 
men of high repute, in so perilous an hour, upon 
so grave a question, could use words in a double 
sense. 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 9F *39 

" Mr. Speaker, we who are the a(tors in this 
drama know, and history will record the fact ? that 
the Conference bill became a law and the Electoral 
Committee was organized, not for the purpose of 
ascertaining which candidate had a majority of the 
electoral votes, nor for the purpose of ascertaining 
that the Governor of Florida and de facto Governor 
of Louisiana had given certificates to the Hayes 
electors. 

OBJECT OF THE BILL. 

"It was never claimed that a tribunal consisting 
in part of five judges, of the highest court upon 
earth, was to be constituted for the sole duty of 
reporting a fact known to every man in the land 
— that the Returning Board of Louisiana had 
given the votes of that State for Hayes electors. 

" I state, sir, now, in the presence of this House 
and of the country, that the avowed object of that 
bill was to ascertain which candidate had received 
a majority of the legal votes of those States. 

" The avowed object of the bill was to secure the 
ends of justice, to see that the will of the people 
was executed, that the Republic suffered no harm ; 
to see, sir, that the title to this great office was not 
tainted with fraud. 

" How well this tribunal has discharged the 
sacred trust committed to it let it answer to history. 
The record will stand, Mr. Speaker, that tin's tri- 
bunal shut its eyes to the light of truth, refused to 
hear the undisputed proof that a majority of 7,000 



40* HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

legal voters in the State of Louisiana for Tilden 
was by a fraudulent returning board changed to 
' 8,000 majority for Hayes. 

" The Republican representative from Florida 
[Mr. Purman] has solemnly declared upon this 
floor that Florida had given its vote to Tilden. 

LEGALIZED FEAUD. 

" I am not surprised that distinguished Repub- 
lican representatives from Massachusetts [Mr, 
;! Seely and Mr. Pierce] have in such thrilling tones 

expressed their dissent from the judgment of this 
tribunal. By this decision fraud had become one 
of the legalized modes of securing the vote of a 
State. 

" Can it be possible that the American people 
are prepared to accept the doctrine that fraud, 
which vitiates all contracts and agreements, which 
taints the judgment and decrees of courts, which 
will even annul the solemn covenant of marriage ; 
fraud, which poisons wherever it enters, can be in- 
quired into all of the relations of human life save 
only where a returning board of its instruments 
and the dearest rights of a sovereign people are at 

stake ? 

"Mr. Speaker, it will be its lesson to the young 
men of our country that, hereafter, old-fashioned 
honesty is at a discount and villainy and fraud are 
the legalized instruments of success. The fact may 
be conceded, the proof overwhelming, that the 
honest voice of a State has been overthrown by 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF *41 

outrage and fraud, and yet the chosen tribunal 
of the people has entered the solemn record that 
there is no remedy, 

A EECREANT GOVERNOR. 

" Mr. Speaker, what my criticism of the decision 
of this tribunal rests upon is its finding in the case 
of Louisiana and Florida. Upon the Oregon case 
I have no criticism to offer. It is true that two 
votes of this State could have been given to Hayes 
and the decision first adopted by the commission 
been followed. In the case of Oregon, however 
inconsistent it may be with other rulings of the 
commission, standing alone it is in the main 
correct. 

"The sanctity of the seal of State and the 
certificate of the Governor applied only to 
Louisiana and Florida, and the Governor of 
Oregon was not of the household of the faithful. 

" Mr. Speaker, we have now reached the final 
action in this great drama, and the record here 
made will pass into history. Time, the great healer, 
will bring a balm to those who feel sick at heart 
because of this grievous wrong. 

" But who can estimate, what seer can foretell 
the evils that may result to us and our children 
from this ? 

" How disastrous may be the result of decisions 
so manifestly partisan I will not attempt to fore- 
•ast." 



*42 LIFE OF ADLAI E. STEVENSON. 

Mr. Stevenson was elected Vice-President in 
1892, when Grover Cleveland was elected Presi- 
dent the second time. His duties were dis- 
charged during the term of four years with con- 
spicuous ability, and as presiding officer of the 
United States Senate he was impartial, courteous 
and firm, always endeavoring to expedite business 
and have questions decided upon their merits. 

He was a prominent figure at the Capital and 
enjoyed the respect and confidence not only of 
the members of his own party, but of all classes 
of citizens. His family contributed much to the 
social life of Washington and left behind them 
many friends when Mr. Stevenson, at the close 
of his term, retired to his home at Bloomington, 
Illinois, to continue the practice of his profes- 
sion, in which he was engaged up to the time he 
received for the second time the nomination for 
the Vice-Presidency at Kansas City. 



DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL 
CONVENTION OF 1900. 



fHE Democratic National Convention of 
1900 assembled at Kansas City, Missouri, 
on the 4th of July. For several days pre- 
viously delegates from various States had been 
on the ground preparing for the important event. 
The people of Kansas City prepared an enthusi- 
astic welcome for their guests. From buildings 
in all parts of the city floated the Stars and 
Stripes, and at night the town was brilliant with 
electric illuminations wrought into various patri- 
otic designs. 

As the Convention assembled on the anniver- 
sary of our nation's birth, patriotism, to the 
exclusion of considerable business, ruled in all 
the sessions. The words of Chairman Jones, of 
the Democratic National Committee, when he 
shouted for order, could not be heard at a dis- 
tance of fifty feet. His hand could be seen sway- 
ing the gavel, but the hammering was unheard. 
The voice of Secretary Walsh, as he read the call 
for the Convention died at his lips. Sporadic 

*43 



44* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

cheers for this or that great man as he entered 
with his delegation were submerged m the uni- 
versal hubbub. _ . 

It was the most democratic scene imaginable, 
in the broadest sense of the word. Although 
the temperature was pleasant, half of the mascu- 
lines wore but their shirts and! trousers. A crim- 
son-cushioned private gallery of notables oppo- 
site the chairman's dais, reminding one of the 
exclusive gallery for diplomats in the Senate 
chamber at Washington, was half filled with 
men who had shed their coats and half with 
women, who made no objection to this breach of 
etiquette, and yet sockless Jerry Simpson, who 
came over from Kansas a few days before with a 
drove of cattle, refused to remain for the Conven- 
tion because it would, he said, be an " assembly 
of aristocrats and their political flunkeys." 

Curious Features of the Convention. 
Temporary Chairman Thomas was utterly 
unable to preserve order at all, and at several 
stages of the proceedings new outbreaks of dis- 
order— good humored— occurred, calls for Hill, 
of New York, being made the medium by which 
the galleries took control of all things. 

The scenes were never paralleled in a National 
Convention, and the curious feature of it was 
nobody seemed to be able to find its source or its 




HENRY M. TEI*I,ER 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *45 

reason for being. From pit to dome the audi- 
torium was crowded long before Chairman Jones, 
looking like a well-faring farmer, readied for his 
gavel and called the Convention to order. Every- 
body admired the fine ball rising from the ashes 
of the one destroyed by fire a few weeks before, 
a vast oval like the Colosseum of Rome, with 
gallery upon gallery, the desks of the presiding 
officials just a little to one side of the centre. 

The decorations were exceptionally profuse, 
flags and bunting covering most of the homely 
features of the architecture, and giving the 
whole a splendor of color quite appropriate to the 
splendor of the occasion. 

Music and Cheers. 

Bands played first at one end then at the other 
end of the oval and every selection was cheered 
by the happy audience, as though it was mostly 
a festival occasion and wholly free from all 
bickering and difference. Cheers for Bryan and 
cheers for almost everybody else from Washing- 
ton to Jefferson, from Jefferson to Bryan, from 
Bryan to Hill and Hill to Croker, were given by 
the ten thousand people for their own amuse- 
ment. A band of high-school boys, sent on as a 
treat at the hands of some newspaper or another, 
filled in the intervals with their hoarse school- 
cry. Each little corner or section appeared to 



46* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

think it owned the place, and when it set up a 
cheer on its own account all the other corners 
and sections followed that the noise might have 
a genuine Fourth of July ring to it. 

When Dr. Neel, a local pastor, raised hands to 
supplicate Divine assistance, the noisy mouths 
were hushed. In the middle of the prayer, how- 
ever, a band marched into the gallery, blowing 
" On the Wabash " at the top of its lungs. Fran- 
tic signs from those near to it stilled it for the 
" Amen," and then it caught the air just where 
it had been dropped, and the finish brought the 
whimsical crowds to it feet in prolonged cheers, 
Indiana's delegation jumping on their chairs 
and leading the awful din. In the midst of this 
tumult were heard the first cries for Hill. 

Did Not Want Solemn Speeches. 

It was certainly no pre- arrangement with cla- 
quers. The galleries were full of Fourth of 
July patriotism. They were not there for solemn 
speeches. Bombs and giant crackers rent the 
outside air. The galleries would not allow the 
street gamins to have the day for theirs. A halt 
was called upon those first shouts for Hill, by 
the appearance of Mayor Reed, of Kansas City, 
who welcomed the Convention in a long Demo- 
cratic Fourth of July oration. 

Temporary Chairman Thomas, the long and 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *47 

lean Governor of Colorado, looking far more the 
dominie than Dr. Neel, was introduced amid 
more cries for Hill. Thomas read his speech. 
Not only was the reading not listened to, but it 
was absolutely snuffed out by impatient stamp- 
ing, cries of " Louder !" and cries for Hill. Its 
ending only was loudly cheered. Not even the 
reading of the Declaration of Independence called 
for by a " ringing resolution " of D. N. Camp- 
bell could command the respect and silence of the 
crowd. The elocutionary effort of Charles Hamp- 
ton, of Michigan, in reading the Declaration was 
ineffectual and it was punctuated throughout 
with cries for Hill. 

A Bust of Bryan. 

At this stage of the proceedings two men sud- 
denly appeared on the rostrum bearing a myster- 
ious burden draped with American flags. Its 
apex, for it was a sort of pyramid, had the outline 
of a bust, and every one expected the unveiling 
of an effigy of Jefferson. The covering was ten- 
derly removed with reverent hands and gestures 
which invited awe ; there upon its pedestal was 
revealed a plaster cast of the head and shoulders 
of William Jennings Bryan. 

The face was turned towards the delegates, 
who broke into wild cheering. " Turn it around!" 
was shouted from other parts of the hall, where 



48* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

its identity was yet a mystery, and as the man in 
charge screwed it abont cheers rang ronnd the 
galleries as the strong and handsome features of 
the man canonized by the Democracy were 
shown. But the vast crowd of spectators and 
delegates would not exhaust their shouts upon 
plaster of paris. Bryan's nomination was ex- 
pected to happen later, and breath was saved for 
the grand occasion. 

Hampton's recitation of the Declaration again 
made the audience restless, and noisy cries for 
Hill ceased only when Miss Mattie Fuller, of New 
York, began to sing " The Star Spangled Ban- 
ner." Then the band struck up " America." 
Senator Jones, Chairman Thomas and Sergeant- 
at-Arms Martin waved hands and hats for the 
audience to rise in grand chorus, and so ended in 
song and cheer the dramatic episode of the 
Declaration and the unveiling of the bust of 

Bryan. 

More Cheers for Senator Hill. 

The last notes of "America" were not yet 
sounded when the shouts for Hill, which previ- 
ously had run around the galleries as the first 
pattering of rain foretells a deluge, overwhelmed 
the hall and Chairman Thomas was swept aside 
like a feather in a cyclone. No matter what the 
demonstration may have meant, it was strange, 
thrilling and dominating. Young bloods from 



-.*- 



i 




DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *49 

Chicago repeated their musical doggerel about 
the Vice Presidential nominee, ending with : 

What do we care who's the nominee." An 
Irishman in the gallery, evidently thinking the 
day was the 17th of March, struck up: 

" St. Patrick was a gentleman." 

Delegates and lay delegates throughout the 
hall sang Bryan campaign songs of four years 
before, and all this time Thomas and his frenzied 
associates madly waved their arms like wind- 
mills, and shouted in chorus for silence. Finally 
the grotesqueness of it all overcame the desire to 
shout and sing, and laughter took the place of 
Fourth of July merriment. By scores and hun- 
dreds men, women and delegates resumed their 
seats, and it was only with this voluntary lull 
that Chairman Thomas was heard to shout that 
if disorder was not stopped at once he would 
order the galleries cleared. 

Speech of Chairman Thomas. 

After Chairman Jones had called the conven- 
tion to order and had made his remarks, Gov- 
ernor Charles S. Thomas, Governor of Colorado 
and the temporary chairman, was introduced. 
Governor Thomas' speech was heard with great 
interest because the thousands in the hall knew 
that it had been written after consultation with 

Mr. Bryan, and therefore would sound the kev- 
4— D J 



50* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

note of Democracy. As lie spoke lie was fre- 
quently interrupted with cheers, at times the del^ 
egates rising en masse and yelling themselves 
hoarse. He first took up the money question, 
and in speaking of the demonetization of silver, 

said : 

" We meet under most auspicious influences. 

On the nation's birthday, in a great central city 
of the republic, at the close and opening of a cen- 
tury, we come together to reaffirm our allegiance 
to the principles of Thomas Jefferson and our 
loyalty to their greatest living exponent. 

Farmers and Mechanics. 

" We have been selected by the farmer and the 
artisan, the miner and the mechanic, the produc- 
ers of wealth in every State and Territory of this 
mighty nation, to register a decree they have 
already determined, to proclaim a candidate they 
have already chosen. 

"We come not with the pomp and circum- 
stance of consolidated wealth, but as the dele- 
gates of the plain people who believe that all men 
were created equal, and that all governments 
derive their just powers from the consent of the 

governed. 

" We are not here as the representatives of the 
vast interests which dominate every industrial 
life, but as the champions of the individual citi- 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *5J 

zen who stands helpless in their presence. We 
speak not for those who would pivot the finances 
of the world upon a single metal, supplementing 
its inadequacy by a paper currency issued by a 
private monopoly at the expense of the people, 
but for the millions who believe in the money of 
the Constitution, and in the ability of their coun- 
trymen to legislate for themselves without the 
previous permission of foreign parliaments, po- 
tentates or princes. 

The Party of the People. 

" We are in very truth the party of the people. 
Our declaration of faith and purpose given to the 
world four years ago has been strengthened by 
the passage of years, and is enshrined to-day in 
our hearts and hopes. 

" It marked an epoch in political history and 
symbolized the regeneration of the party whose 
birth was coeval with the birth of the Union, 
whose death that Union cannot long survive. It 
crystalized into an undying creed the precepts of 
our founders— reaffirmed the objects of Demo- 
cratic organization and proclaimed democracy to 
be no longer a name, but " a great spirit and a 
living heart." 

"The close of President Harrison's adminis- 
tration found the country face to face with con- 
ditions of the greatest moment. A deficiency of 



52* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

the public revenues through the reckless legisla- 
tion and profligate extravagance of the Fifty-first 
Congress had become apparent in the preceding 
October. A bond issue, prepared m February, 
was postponed as a legacy to the incoming ad- 
ministration. Trade and industry, long stimu- 
lated by unequal tariff laws, were staggering 
toward a crisis. Monetary conditions, disturbed 
and uncertain, threatened early disaster. Ihe 
storm came in June, when the elements, long 
pent up and long accumulating, burst m fury 
upon the continent. 

The Panic and Its Consequences. 

« It shook the foundations of our commercial 

fabric, overwhelmed every branch of trade and 

industry and spread bankruptcy and desolation 

everywhere. Its subsidence was the work of 

ye "The misery and ruin it inflicted was fresh in 
the minds and hearts of the people. The country 
slowly emerged from the receding flood the 
stricken nation struggled to its feet and pamfully 
began the work of economic reconstruction while 
statesmen discussed the cause of our calamity. 
In the agony of our suffering they clearly per- 
ceived and freely acknowledged its primal source, 
a vicious and indefensible monetary system. 
" Men differed as to the method of its reforma- 



DEMOCKATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *53 

tion, not as to the necessity for a change. They 
wrangled over the merits of standards, bnt nnited 
in condemning an nnsound and artificial finan- 
cial system, the logical outcome of whose opera- 
tion was inevitable disaster. 

" The line of division between political forces 
became, therefore, sharply defined in 1896 upon 
what was called the money question. That ques- 
tion involved, as we then asserted and as we 
now know, every other economic problem. It 
embraced, within its wide limitations the issue 
of labor and capital, or combination and compe- 
tition, of production, transportation and distribu- 
tion. 

" It was predicted that the defeat of bimetal- 
lism would be followed by the retirement of all 
forms of government currency, by the dedication 
of the power of note issue to the holders of the 
national obligation, the practical consolidation of 
all lines of transportation and the consequent 
domination of every commercial pursuit by a 
score of colossal monopolies. These predictions 
have in general been verified. 

Trusts Followed Republican Victory. 

" Democratic defeat had scarcely been recorded 
when the march of consolidation was resumed. 
Every pursuit that engages the attention of man 
has been exploited, capitalized and appropriated. 



54* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1000. 

" The earth and the waters round abont it 
have been explored for subjects of monopoly and 
those who have thundered against unsound 
money have used the printing press and the en- 
gravers' art to turn out thousands of millions of 
fictitious values, to whose profit the toilers and 
consumers pay constant tribute. Every avenue 
is closed to the competitive energies of the citizen, 
has been listed on the stock exchange and rises 
or falls with the turn of the gambler's card. 

Despotism of Money. 

11 Consolidations succeed consolidations, and 
as they lessen in number, they enlarge in the 
volume of their .real and fictitious accumulations, 
and their more despotic sway over all material 
and political interests. 

" These evils, startling in their magnitude and 
inevitable in their consequences, must either cul- 
minate in one immense aggregation, all powerful 
and all absorbing, to be arrested and dissolved 
by the force of an aroused public opinion finding 
expression at the polls in support of the nominee 
of this convention. 

11 The party in power carried the last election 
by and through the support of influences which 
we criticize. Having purchased the right to 
pursue their various objects the government has 
been at all times their powerful ally. Hence the 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *55 

onward march of organized wealth to absolute 
power and the exaltation of the dollar above the 
rights of the welfare of the multitude. 

The crisis in our commercial affairs, whose 
issue, presented in an acute form to the voters of 
1900, is that of industrial despotism as against 
the liberty of the citizen. 

Wealth Gained Dishonestly. 

" Democracy wages no war against wealth. 
Under her beneficent rule its creation and amass- 
ment have ever been among the most worthy 
objects of human effort. The desire for material 
comfort and well-being is the very mainspring of 
progress. The wealth that comes as the reward of 
honest industry and thrift commands and must 
receive the encouragement and protection of all. 

" But the wealth that comes through the part- 
nership with the government, which usurps its 
prerogatives and perverts its agencies, which 
absorbs the resources and blasts the opportuni- 
ties of the individual, furnishes competition, levies 
tribute on the producer and corrupts and poisons 
all branches of official life, and reduces the citi- 
zen to dependence upon its will, excites our just 
apprehensions. 

" Free institutions must languish without 
communism of wealth. Official integrity cannot 
survive its temptations. Against its continued 



56* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

prevalence the conscience of the nation mnst be 
quickened and aronsed if its baleful influences 
are to be destroyed. Modern monopoly is the 
offspring of the Republican party. It is the 
genius of organized commercialism. It has 
neither conscience, sentiment nor patriotism. 

" It knows neither justice nor merality. Its 
inspiration is greed and its purposes accumula- 
tion. Corruption is its necessary instrument. 
No public service is too high, none too low, to 
escape its influence. Its hand is on the throat 
and in the pocket of every human being in the 
nation. It sneers at the rights of man and de- 
fies the sovereignty of States. It regulates wages 
and the prices of life's necessities. It divides the 
territory of the Union into commercial provinces, 
punishes integrity and rewards the unscrupu- 
lous. It gives or refuses employment at its 
pleasure. It blacklists the workingman and sets 
him adrift to starve in the midst of plenty. 

The Yield of Gold. 

" If the enormous gold yield of the past five 
years were indefinitely prolonged and the arcs of 
the gold standard were not extended the needs 
of bimetalism would be relatively inconsequent. 
But the production of gold and silver oscillates, 
one or the other always preponderating. The 
pendulum will again swing to the other extreme. 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *57 

" Bimetalism knowing this, knows also that 
the crisis returns if one man shall reject the 
offering nature presents for our continued pros- 
perity. 

" Looking backward over the past and forward 
to the coming years, we ask this great nation to 
provide against recurrence of disaster by adher- 
ing to the system of finance which the fathers 
crystalized in the Constitution and base its future 
policy on more secure foundation. 

The Monroe Doctrine. 

We have cheerfully submitted to a burden- 
some taxation that Cuba might be free ; that 
Porto Rico might enjoy the heritage of our Con- 
stitution. We have consecrated our sons to the 
cause of liberty and sent them freely forth to 
extinguish the last vestige of despotism in our 
hemisphere. We protest against payment of 
tribute or the devotion of life to the cause of 
empire. 

" We will emulate monarchy neither in con- 
quest nor in government. We would perpetuate 
the Monroe Doctrine and realize with Jefferson 
that its first and fundamental maxim is never 
to entangle ourselves in the broils of the Old 
World. We need not despoil the helpless that 
we may trade with them. 

We realize that a standing army is the at- 



58* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900, 

tendant of imperialism. We should avoid the 
latter because once avowed as a national policy 
it must undermine our domestic institutions. 

The American Soldier. 

"The stretch of thirty-three peaceful years 
from the close of the rebellion to the opening of 
the war for Cuban independence has wrought no 
change in the valor and self-denial of the Ameri- 
can soldier. 

" Inspired by the loftiest patriotism, the high- 
est devotion to the country, he has again testified 
his readiness and ability to wage her battles and 
win her victories. On land and sea, under burn- 
ing tropic suns, he is the same invincible fighter 
whose fathers at Yorktown, at New Orleans, at 
San Jacinto and at Gettysburg established, main- 
tained and perpetuated the Republic. 

Burdens of Taxation. 

" We would relieve the people of the burden 
of taxation. If administrative authority is to 
be credited, the Spanish- American conflict ended 
eight months ago. The same authority assures 
us with every moon that the Philippine insurrec- 
tion is over. 

" The treasury is bursting with a plethoric 
issue, millions of which are deposited with 
favorite banks, which lend it to the people on 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *59 

their own terms, that the volume of circulation 
may not suffer diminution. Notwithstanding 
these conditions, there is no surcease of taxation. 
11 Measures cunningly devised to fall upon the 
backs of the people and screen large interests 
from responsibility for the public burdens wil- 
lingly assumed and cheerfully borne in the heat 
of conflict, press with full weight in times of 
peace, with no signs of relief from the party in 
power. 

" Unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation, 
and unjust taxation, by whatever name it may 
be called, is the plunder of the citizen by his 
government. 

The Man Wanted. 

" We would have for our Chief Magistrate a 
man sprung from the loins of the people, rock- 
ribbed in his convictions and controlled by the 
admonitions of his conscience. A man of lofty 
ideals and steadfast courage. A man to whom 
his country's constitution appears as a living 
and sacred reality. 

" A man who exalts the duties, the rights and 
the welfare of his fellow-citizens above the sinis- 
ter and corroding influences of centralized com- 
mercialism. 

^ " A man whose ear is untuned to the pulsa- 
tions of the pocket-book, but responsive to the 
heart-throb of the masses. A man with no 



60* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

Warwick behind his chair, with policies that are 

his own, 

" A man with strong opinio^ and a strong 
will to enforce them. A man conscions of his 
country's dignity and power, of its capacity to 
cope with all conditions. A man who measures 
the greatness of the republic by the protection 
it gives to the humblest citizen. A man whose 
clear vision perceives the causes, and whose 
steady judgment determines the remedy for the 

public ills. 

" A man who will lay a strong hand of author- 
ity upon the vast interests dominating the moral, 
industrial and political life of the nation and 
maintain the integrity of our institutions against 
all their designs and encroachments. 

Dignity of an American Citizen. 

" A man who recognizes no dignity greater 
than that of an American citizen, no right more 
sacred than that which secures to him the full 
enjoyment of every opportunity that a land like 
ours affords. A man whose opinions do not 
change with his apparel ; whose policies are not 
fashioned from day to day by extraneous influ- 
ences, whose " plain duty " consists not in sanc- 
tioning the repudiation of his own counsel. 

" We want a man of non-plastic mould, con- 
forming his opinions to passing impressions of 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *6J 

popular sentiment, as facile in their abandon- 
ment as in their advocacy. We want a man to 
whom right is greater than expediency, who post- 
pones no duty to the demand of privilege, who is 
loved by the multitude, respected by the world and 
feared only by those who distrust the people." 

Wrangle Over Resolutions. 

At the conclusion of the speech of temporary 
chairman Thomas, Governor of Colorado, the 
the Convention adjourned until 4 o'clock. The 
short 4 o'clock session, after a rest of an hour, 
was a scene of struggling and fighting for ad- 
mission and seats, only to be met with another 
recess until 8.30. 

The committee on resolutions being engaged 
in an interminable wrangle over the 16 to 1 
plank, and the moderates being in the lead, there 
was " confusion worse confounded." 

The wrangle in the committee on platform, 
one of the bitterest known in long years and un- 
expected to most of those who were in the midst 
of it, held up all movements in relation to the 
Vice-Presidency. 

Impossible to preserve even a semblance of 
order, and shouts and cat-calls and " put him 
out!" and " shut him off!" and " choke him!" 
greeted the speakers upon reports of the commit- 
tee on credentials. 



62* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

A momentary pause in the disorder occurred 
when the committee on permanent organizations 
reported and Congressman Richardson was es- 
corted to the stand as permanent chairman, but 
the long speech of the leader of the Democrats 
in the House of Representatives was heard only 
by a few in the immediate vicinity of the speaker. 

Speech of the Permanent Chairman. 

" The last great national contest was fought 
mainly upon one issue, which was familiarly 
called "sixteen to one.'' The momentous issue 
this year is again sixteen to one, but the sixteen 
parts to the one part of this campaign are wholly 
different from those of 1896. 

This is how Representative James D. Rich- 
ardson, of Tennessee, permanent chairman of 
the Convention, began his address. He placed 
the issues of the campaign under sixteen heads 
and the candidate as the one of the combination. 

Of the issues he said : " We have the issue 
fraught with indescribable importance to our 
people native born — that of the republic against 
the empire. On this part alone of the sixteen, 
we confidently expect to win a sweeping victory 
in November. 

" Under three years of Republican rule, while 
they controlled the Presidency, the Senate and 
the House of Representatives, trusts have been 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. * D 3 

propagated and fostered by legislation until they 
not only dominate all markets, but defy the very 
power of the government itself. 

New Tariff Law Denounced. 

" Called to power under a pledge to reform the 
currency, they seized the first opportunity to 
fasten upon the land the highest protective tariff- 
law ever put upon the statute books of any 
country. It failed to raise sufficient revenue for 
the government, but answered the purpose of en- 
riching the favored few, while it robbed the 
many. 

" This administration came into power with a 
solemn declaration in favor of bimetalism and a 
pledge to promote it. It has failed to keep that 
pledge. It has erected in its stead the single 
standard of gold and has built up a powerful 
national bank trust. 

" The dominant party has recently made the 
fraudulent declaration that it favored the Monroe 
Doctrine, and yet its President and Secretary of 
State have done all in their power to nullify and 
abrogate that famous and much revered Demo- 
cratic doctrine. 

" When Congress last assembled the President 
solemnly urged the plain duty to give free trade 
to Puerto Rico. But in a night— almost in a 
twinkling of an eye— the mighty magnates of the 



g4* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

trusts swept down upon Washington and inter- 
posed their strong arm, and plain duty vanished 
like mist before the rising sun. 

" The President wheeled into line the Repub- 
lican party, reversed its policy, and set up a tariff 
wall between the Island of Puerto Rico and the 
remainder of the United States. The Democratic 
party stands for equal taxation, equal rights and 
opportunities to all who come under the folds of 

the flag. ."- *« t 

Incompetence in Philippines. 

" They wholly failed by their legislation or by 
the cheaper method of platform declaration to tell 
the country what their policy is in respect to the 
Philippine Islands. For two years, by their 
equivocating policy, and no policy at all, they 
have continued in that archipelago a war, expen- 
sive in human blood, as well as in money. 

" Incompetent to deal with this question, and 
too cowardly to avow their real purpose of imper- 
ialism and militarism in dealing with these and 
kindred colonial questions, they should be retired 
from power, and the control should be given to a 
party honest, bold and patriotic enough to apply 
American theories and precepts to existing con- 
ditions, and thereby solve them in harmony with 
the underlying principles of the Declaration of 
Independence and the constitution of our coun- 
try. 



DEMOCEATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *6£> 

" They loudly proclaim that theirs is the party 
of liberty, and in their vainglory boast of their 
very name, Republican, yet they stand supinely 
by and refuse even an expression of sympathy 
with the Boer republics in their heroic and un- 
equal struggle for existence as against the gross 
oppressions and brutal efforts at enslavement of 
the same old tyrant who went down in defeat 
when he sought to prevent the establishment of 
our own liberty loving Republic." 

In conclusion he said : — 

Broken Pledges. 

"We have seen that platform pledges are 
made and broken ; that good intentions of men 
are many times set at naught ; that plain duty 
clearly set forth and understood is disregarded ; 
that some men are weak and vacillating and may 
change their solemn opinions in a day. 

"It is apparent, therefore, to all that in this 
supreme exigency of the Republic a demand 
goes forth not for a faint-hearted declaration of 
platform platitudes, but for a man. Yes, a man 
who stands like a mighty rock in this desert— a 
man who knowing the right will dare to do right. 

" Such a man this Convention will tender to 
the nation as their candidate for President— a 
man who is unsurpassed as a citizen, unequalled 
as an orator, courageous as a soldier, conspicuous 



06* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

in every element that constitutes the typical 
and the true American, William J. Bryan, of 

Nebraska." 

Genuine Enthusiasm. 

The disorder at the close of the speech of 
Richardson was genuine enthusiasm in response 
to the mention of Bryan's name. It was the first 
evidence of feeling on the part of the delegates. 
Had the magic name been spoken at any other 
time than at the moment when adjournment was 
known to be at hand, doubtless no greater dem- 
onstration would have been made. It was a 
moment of relief, the end of a day of laborious 
and curious performances, and the cheering was 
as vociferous as though the name of Bryan had 
been formally presented for nomination. 

The scene was typical. Everybody shouted, 
flags and kerchiefs deluged the air. The dele- 
gates, after a season of cheering, caught up the 
standards of the States and began the typical 
convention march. Cheering for Bryan, howl- 
ing themselves hoarse, struggling up one aisle 
and down another, they finally, after twenty 
minutes of this cheerful insanity, rushed to the 
dais of the chairman and massed the standards, 
each carrier attempting to raise his higher than 
any other, but effectually giving the supremacy 
in most chivalric manner to a delegate who 
swung aloft the standard of Bryan's own State. 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. * D 7 

SECOND DAT OF THE CONVENTION. 

The hall was packed, as on the first day, lone 
before the hour fixed for beginning business 
delegates and representatives of the press en- 
countered obstacles to easy admission to the hall 
and m many cases, after gaining admission, were 
compelled to appeal to the police to secure pos- 
session of their seats. It was fully expected that 
a fight would take place at the morning session 
over the platform. The morning papers had 
announced that the Committee on Resolutions 
had agreed at 4 o'clock in the morning on the plat- 
form, the coinage plank favoring 16 to i having 
been adopted by a vote of 2 6 to 24. Montana 
and the District of Columbia not voting. The 
effect of this announcement was to increase the 
pressure for admission to the hall, the inference 
being that the committee would certainly bring 
m two reports, and thus begin the decisive battle 
on the floor, which was deemed inevitable. 
A Keen Lookout for Hill. 
The hour fixed for assembling was half-past 
10. It was 1 1 when Chairman Richardson as- 
sumed the gavel, and had the session opened 
with prayer. As on the day before, the specta- 
tors were on the lookout for the entrance of 
favorite delegates, but the great throng that 
packed the floor and aisles made identification of 



68* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

particular individuals almost impossible. The 
lookout for ex-Senator Hill was especially keen. 
So keen, indeed, that few baldheaded men seen 
in the vicinity of the New York seats were per- 
mitted to escape. Mr. Hill was at the hall only 
for a few minutes during the morning session. 

Upon entering he was recognized and cheered. 
Apprehending that he might be forced to the 
platform through the efforts of those who were 
calling for him at frequent intervals, Mr. Hill 
left the hall after learning that the Committee 
on Resolutions would not report for several 

hours. , _. 

Speechmaking to Kill Time. 

The proceedings of the morning session were 
without special interest. The Convention was 
held together a couple of hours in the hope that 
the Committee on Resolutions would report the 
platform, the time being occupied by speeches 
by ex-Governor Hogg, of Texas ; ex-Congress- 
man Dockery, of Missouri ; Governor Beckham, 
of Kentucky ; Congressman Williams, of Indi- 
ana- Mayor Rose, of Milwaukee, who was de- 
feated for temporary chairman by the 16 to i 
men, a few others of more or less prominence 
and patriotic music by the band. 
' Governor Beckham, of Kentucky, was accorded 
an enthusiastic greeting by the delegates, and of 
course by the galleries, whose occupants never 



DEMOCKATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *69 

fail to improve an opportunity to cheer and make 
a noise. Shouting in a national political Con- 
vention is contagious. It is often started when 
the cause is the slimmest and continued without 
occasion or justification. 

Learning the committee would not be prepared 
to report until late in the afternoon a recess was 
taken until half-past 3 o'clock. 

- No Trouble Over the Platform. 

Mr. Hill was mistaken in his judgment that 
there would be a platform fight in the Conven- 
tion. The platform was adopted with unanimity 
and with a wave of delirious excitement that 
would have overwhelmed and pulverized any at- 
tempt to resist it. Moreover, the unanimous re- 
port of the committee left no favorable parlia- 
mentary opportunity for opposition. The com- 
mittee succeeded in reconciling all differences 
and satisfying the men who stood for reaffirma- 
tion by some modification in the language origi- 
nally proposed, although the modification could 
not be said to contain substantial concession. 

The demand of 1896 for an American financial 
system is reiterated, " and as a part of such sys- 
tem the immediate restoration of the free and un- 
limited coinage of silver and gold at the present 
legal ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting for the aid 
or consent of any other nation," is also insisted 



70* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

upon. The financial plank had the approval of 
Mr. Bryan, to whom it was submitted, and is in 
every way essential for free and unlimited coin- 
age as the utterance made at Chicago in 1896. 

Vote in the Committee. 

The committeemen who voted for the plank 
represented the following States and Territories : 
Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, 
Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Ne- 
vada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South 
Carolina, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, 
Arizona, Indian Territory, New Mexico, Okla- 
homa and Hawaii. 

Those who voted against it represented the 
following : California, Connecticut, Florida, 
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, 
South Dakota, Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota, 
New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, 
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Missis- 
sippi, Texas, Wisconsin and Alaska. 

No Minority Report. 

, When the doors opened at the Kansas City 
Club at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and members 
of the Committee on Resolutions came out, the 
eager crowds outside soon saw and heard unmis- 
takable indications of a radical and happy ac- 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *71 

cord on the vexatious problem connected with 
the platform. " We have agreed and all is love- 
ly," said Mr. Morse, the Indiana member of the 
committee, who was first to appear. " There 
were some humiliations, but on the whole we 
can feel assured that a safe result has been 
reached. Our vote was unanimous on the whole 
platform as represented and put together. There 
will be no minority report." 

Several of the committee remained discussing 
the result. Senator Daniel, who had strenu- 
ously opposed the specific plank on silver, said 
it did not disappoint him, for he believed in the 
principle and wanted to be conciliatory if possi- 
ble to all elements of the party. 

"The Paramount Issue." 

The fact that the committee had agreed on a 
specific declaration that anti-expansion is the 
paramount issue gave great satisfaction. The 
anti-silver men were more pleased by this turn in 
affairs than any one else. They said it let them 
out and gave them a good fighting foothold in 
their constituencies. Representative Daly, of 
New Jersey, who affiliates with the Tammany 
men in New York, was delighted with the result. 
It was a magical transformation from the scenes 
that made the night session full of bitterness and 
dispute. 



72* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

Mr. Metcalfe, the Convention voice of Bryan, 
said there could be no question of Mr. Bryan's 
approval of the platform now, and he believed it 
was word for word in every line just what the 
Nebraskan wanted. In fact, although Mr. Met- 
calfe did not say so, it is believed that the result 
which was the event of the day was the happy 
thought of Bryan himself, long ago intended 
and thrown into the situation at the eleventh 
hour as a peace nucleus to save the Convention. 

Tillman's Effort Against the Stamp Tax. 
Senator Tillman made a strong fight against 
what he termed the " licking taxes." " I don't 
like so much gum and glue in our Government," 
he said " Let's denounce this whole stamp tax 
business. I do not believe in keeping the whole 
American people pulling their tongues on stamps 
forever to raise money to kill the poor uncon- 
senting Filipinos." 

Tillman put the committee in good humor, 
and as much as any one present contributed to 
the general feeling of brotherly accord. Fred 
Plaisted, of Maine, was as much gratified by the 
final action of the committee as the members 
from other States. " It's all right, now," he 
said, with a joyous laugh. " We had a fearful 
time reaching it, but it's all th« better now. We 
are through. 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *73 

" It's a platform that's consistent with Bryan's 
immovable belief, and it gives those who vary 
from him a greater issne than silver can be this 
year. If there is any part of the country or any 
section of the party that prefers to register its 
opinion on the expansion question rather than 
silver, we have given the fullest chance for it, 
and the Northwest and the West can argue the 
money question all over again if they find it best 
to do so. I believe this platform was never sur- 
passed in any Democratic Convention. It brings 
harmony where there was discord and leaves no 
kick coming from any quarter." 

The Platform Ready. 

It was 4 o'clock when the Committee on Re- 
solutions appeared with Jones at their head hold- 
ing in his hand the newly prepared manuscript 
that had just come fresh from the typewriters at 
the Kansas City Club. The committee had been 
in session two hours to listen to the final draft, 
and at length it was thoroughly polished and 
completed. Two and two, the committee marched 
over the distance of a block, and Chairman Jones 
and Benton McMillin soon loomed upon the 
platform. There was much confusion through- 
out the hall. The aisles were filled with sway- 
ing masses of men and women. 

Hundreds who had no tickets had thronged in 



74* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

between the lines of seats and knelt and cronched 
to get a coign of vantage from which to witness 
the nomination of a Presidential candidate. It 
took time to gain qniet in the great hall. Chair- 
man Richardson and Chairman Jones both waved 
their hands long and patiently to silence the 
common voice of the great throng. The band 
strnck np "Home, Sweet Home," and as its 
familiar strains swept through the building 
the steady staccato of the gavel was heard ap- 
pealing for order. Fan in one hand and gavel 
in the other the tall Tennesseean labored. 

Senator Tillman's Great Effort. 

At length, in something like a lull in the din, 
Jones announced that the platform was prepared, 
and the committee would present its work. There 
was a resounding yell of delight when the crowd 
caught the words. " Tillman read the report," 
and they knew there was some chance of hearing, 
when the all-conquering voice of the South Caro- 
linian was to bring the platform before the Con- 
vention. He set out in a mighty tone that was 
heard to the uttermost parts of the hall in front 
of him, but to those in the opposite end was in- 
audible. An Arkansas delegate brought the pro- 
ceedings to a standstill by yelling, "That is an 
important document. We have a right to hear 
it read. I demand order 1" 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *75 

Then Tillman lifted his terrible voice in a gi- 
gantic effort and told the multitude that if they 
would make as much of an effort to keep still as 
he should to make a noise they would all hear 
every word. Tillman read the platform, with de- 
light streaming from every part of his sturdy 
figure. 

If it had been one of his own right and left 
speeches it would not have aroused him to greater 
animation. He brandished the mass of manu- 
script clenched in his hand, and gestured every 
sentence to a thrilling finish. 

Again, and over and over the spectators broke 
in with applause. They relished the thundering 
phrases from the Declaration of Independence, 
and they said so as often as possible. 

During these recurring cheers, compared with 
the scene that came as the last lines of the plank 
of anti-imperialism rolled on into the waiting 
spaces of the big hall. Voices at first shouted, 
" Read it again," and " That's right, that's right," 
was heard from hundreds of voices in all parts 
of the hall. The starting point of the scene was 
the words in the platform which declared that 
anti-imperialism was the paramount issue of the 
campaign. In the demonstration that followed 
there occurred a premature use of arrangements 
to fan the enthusiasm of the throng when Bryan 
should be nominated. 



76* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

A Huge Flag Unfurled. 
A huge flag, 26 by 50 feet, had been furled up 
in the steel rafters of the hall. The plan was to 
let it unfold and fall before the Convention at the 
moment when the nomination was to receive its 
storm of cheers. But the men stationed up m 
the bowels of the roof caught the infection of 
enthusiasm and let down the flag on Tillman s 
reading of the anti-Philippine plank. Then, 
suddenly, as if a vast meadow were all at once 
to burst into full bloom with flowers of all colors, 
there were thousands of small flags waving m 
the air all over the great hall. 

A Stirring Scene. 
The scene on the floor was one of pandemon- 
ium. Everyone in the hall was on his feet. 
Some were not content with this and stood in 
their chairs. Everything that could be brand- 
ished was waving in the air. Canes, hats, hand- 
kerchiefs, umbrellas— anything that could swing 
or flutter. The standards of the States were 
clustering in front of the stage. Every man was 
trying to lift his standard as high m the air as 
he could. Many delegates had colored pampas 
plumes, and these they brandished m the air. 
Some delegations had beautiful silk banners 
Michigan's, of blue, bearing the portrait of 
Bryan; California's, of red, and bearing the 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *77 

• 

words u Liberty, Equality and Justice ;" Hawaii's, 
with a legend in monosyllabic words in the island 
language. Kansas had a big bunch of sunflow- 
ers tied to her standard. The large flag of the 
Traveling Men's League was also in the throng. 

Not So Much Enthusiasm Over Silver. 

The cheering went on for nearly twenty min- 
utes and, when something like quiet was secured, 
Tillman made a short speech on his own 
account, which sounded as if he were telling a 
story about "Hell in Georgia," with the sugges- 
tion that if this sort of thing kept on Mr. Hanna 
would think there was " Hell in Missouri." The 
Boer plank drew a hearty cheer, as did one after 
another of the lesser declarations of principles 
and issues. In a moment he was reading the sil- 
ver plank, and another outburst greeted it. It 
was long and steady, but marked by none of the 
delirium that had just preceded it. People did 
not rise ; the cheering seemed to lag. 

There Were No Noes. 

In the cadence of the cheering that followed 
the close of Tillman's reading Chairman Jones 
moved the adoption of the report. Chairman 
Richardson put the motion, which was caught up 
in a mighty shout of approval. The noes were 
not asked for and there were none. 



78* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

A Dramatic Incident. 

And here another dramatic surprise had been 
arranged by the master mechanics of this cloud- 
burst of Democratic enthusiasm. The echoes of 
the vote on the platform had hardly died away 
before Chairman Richardson took the breath of 
the big audience by introducing Webster Davis, 
who stood like a new convert at a revival for sev- 
eral minutes until the crowd would let him be 
heard. Then in a stirring speech he walked into 
the Democratic party and declared accounts bal- 
anced between himself and McKinley. The 
scene that ensued was like those that preceded it, 
although not so much prolonged. 

In the whirl that followed the Missouri delega- 
tion, with Governor Stone at the head, walked up 
to the platform and took Davis down to sit with 
them. Meantime the big flag had been again 
furled up under the roof, and men waited there 
to let it down on the nomination scene. The 
south wind blew through open windows and sent 
the big flag waving through the great hall. 

The Master Demonstration of the Day. 
The cheers for Davis and the Boers were 
hardly dying away when another demonstration 
started through the announcement by the chair 
that nominations for President of the United 
States were in order. The announcement was 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 190Ct *79 

hardly heard that Mr. Oldham, of Nebraska, was 
to nominate the candidate when that gentleman 
was seen to be speaking. The speech was long, 
and was hardly heard. He finished at 6.08 p. m.' 
Then began the master demonstration of the day. 
For over half an honr pandemonium reigned. 
The unison of yells was paralyzing. The rush 
of standard bearers again set in. Up and down 
the hall they surged in a quivering, screaming 
line. 

After a while there loomed up from the region 
of the Nebraska seats a banner bearing a colossal 
portrait of Bryan. It moved forward to the plat- 
form, and the standards and banners congre- 
gated about it. Texas held aloft on a twenty- 
foot pole a huge pair of steer horns surmounted 
by an antelope head. Some State swung out a 
banner with the words " Lincoln abolished 
slavery, McKinley revived it." New York had 
one saying : " Don't think there are no sixteen 
to one'rs in New York." 

The big flag of the Harrisburg Democratic 
Club was conspicuous in the line. Here and 
there on the floor men twirled red, white and 
blue umbrellas. All the while 20,000 throats 
were hurrahing, yelling and screaming. Women 
joined with a frantic treble, and the thin, vibrant 
voices of children, girls as well as boys, were 
heard in the babel of noises. And now and then 



gO* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

a bar of some patriotic song drifted down from 
where the Third Regiment band was joining in 
the demonstration. The big portrait of Bryan 
began to move down the hall. 

A Delirious Pageant. 

The delirious pageant set in behind it. Around 
and around the hall they went. The enthusiasm 
was contagious. Senator Clark, carrying the 
Montana standard and leading a beautiful young 
lady by the hand, went around the circuit of the 
hall. With undiminished force the demonstra- 
tion kept on, and the moments sped on without 
any sign of the wild joy of the throng ever com- 
ing to an end. It was as if despair had been 
turned to sudden joy. An escape had been 
found from the pall of 16 to i and anti-imperial- 
ism had taken its place. 

A new decalogue had come to guide the host, 
and nothing but ungirt, frenzied, cyclonic em- 
ployment of lungs and muscle could sufficiently 
express the altitudinous delight. As the big 
portrait of Bryan went on, the galleries immedi- 
ately in front of it redoubled their yells until the 
sound was deafening. Its intensity only in- 
creased as the huge, grim face went on by and 
succeeding thousands screeched and roared their 

pleasure. 

Round and round the big amphitheatre the 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *81 

thundering roll of myriad voices went, and the 
long-legged Nebraskans struggled on with the 
portrait. The galleries were by no means tired 
when at last the face stopped once more at the 
Chairman's platform, and the throng of stand- 
ards and banners again assembled there. This 
was not long after 6 o'clock, and the long tilting 
rays of the setting sun slanted down from the 
west windows, high up in the lantern of the hall, 
and seemed to join in the demonstration. All 
things have an end, and when the demonstration 
had run longer than any other of the day, as was 
fitting, Mr. Richardson began pounding the life 
out of it. It stopped, and the somewhat dreary 
business of seconding the nomination began. 

The Seconding Speeches. 

A pale gentleman with glasses, Judge E. B. 
Perkins, of Texas, was making an inaudible 
speech. Ex-Senator White thundered a strong 
promise of support on the Pacific coast. 

O. W. Thompson, an Illinois delegate, told of 
the pride he and his fellow citizens in Jackson- 
ville felt in the fact that Bryan was born in their 
neighborhood. 

As the call of States for the speeches went on 
there was a good deal of eloquence turned on, to 
be sent like leaves before the wind in the stormy 
babel that prevailed. It was known that Ten- 



32* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

nent Lomax and Senator Daniel, of Virginia, and 
John H. Atwood, the silver-tongued Democratic 
orator of Kansas, and many others were speakers, 
but only fragments of what was said could be 

heard. 

The Final Roll Call. 

The speechmaking was finally cut off, much 
to the gratification of delegates and spectators, 
and the roll was called on the nomination of 
Bryan. As each State was called, the Chairman 
announced the unanimous vote of his colleagues 
for Bryan. There were demonstrations from 
time to time as the roll call proceeded, but they 
were not continuous, as everybody seemed im- 
patient for the final result. This was announced 
by Chairman Richardson at 8.50. It was re- 
ceived with a yell of delight, and the Convention 
adjourned until the next morning, when the 
nomination for Vice President was to be made and 
the work of the Convention completed. 

THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM. 

Following is the official text of the platform 
as agreed upon by the Committee on Resolutions, 
presented to the Convention and unanimously 

adopted : 

We, the representatives of the Democratic 
party of the United States, assembled in conven- 
tion on the anniversary of the adoption of the 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *83 

Declaration of Independence, do reaffirm onr 
faith in that immortal proclamation of the in- 
alienable rights of man, and our allegiance to 
the Constitution framed in harmony therewith 
by the fathers of the Republic. We hold with 
the United States Supreme Court that the De- 
claration of Independence is the spirit of our 
Government, of which the Constitution is the 
form and letter. 

We declare again that all governments in- 
stituted among men derive their just powers from 
the consent of the governed ; that any govern- 
ment not based upon the consent of the governed 
is a tyranny ; and that to impose upon any people 
a government of force is to substitute the methods 
of imperialism for those of a republic. 

We hold that the Constitution follows the flag, 
and denounce the doctrine that an Executive 
or Congress, deriving their existence and their 
powers from the Constitution, can exercise lawful 
authority beyond it or in violation of it. 

The Treachery to Porto Rico. 

We assert that no nation can long endure half 
republic and half empire, and we warn the Ameri- 
can people that Imperialism abroad will lead 
quickly and inevitably to despotism at home. 
Believing in these fundamental principles, we 
denounce the Porto Rico law, enacted by a Re- 






84 * DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

publican Congress, against the protest and oppo- 
sition of the Democratic minority, as a bold and 
open violation of the nation's organic law and a 
flagrant breach of the national good faith. It 
imposes upon the people of Porto Rico a govern- 
ment without their consent and taxation without 
representation. It dishonors the American people 
by repudiating a solemn pledge made m their 
behalf by the commanding general of our army, 
which the Porto Ricans welcomed to a peaceful 
and unresisted occupation of their land. It 
doomed to poverty and distress a people whose 
helplessness appeals with peculiar force to our 
justice and magnanimity. In this, the firs act 
of its imperialistic programme, the Republican 
party seeks to commit the United States to a 
colonial policy inconsistent with republican in- 
stitutions and condemned by the Supreme Court 
in numerous decisions. 

Our Pledges to Cuba. 
We demand the prompt and honest fulfillment 
of our pledge to the Cuban people and the world, 
that the United States has no disposition nor in- 
tention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or 
control over the Island of Cuba, except for its 
pacification. The war ended nearly two years 
Lo profound peace reigns over all the island, and 
still the Administration keeps the government of 



l.OUIOCKATTC CONVENTION, I 00. *85 

the island from its people, while Republican car- 
pet-bagging officials plunder its revenues and 
exploit the colonial theory to the disgrace of the 
American people. 

Denounces Philippine Policy. 

We condemn and denounce the Philippine pol- 
icy of the present Administration. It had 
involved the Republic in unnecessary war, sacri- 
ficed the lives of many of our noblest sons and 
placed the United States, previously known and 
applauded throughout the world as the champion 
of freedom, in the false and un-American position 
of crushing with military force the efforts of our 
former allies to achieve liberty and self-govern- 
ment. The Filipinos cannot be citizens without 
endangering our civilization ; they cannot be sub- 
jects without imperiling our form of Govern- 
ment, and as we are not willing to surrender our 
civilization or to convert the Republic into an 
Empire, we favor an immediate declaration of the 
nation's purpose to give to the Filipinos, first, a 
stable form of government ; second, independ- 
ence, and third, protection from outside interfer- 
ence, such as has been given for nearly a century 
to the Republics of Central and South America. 

The greedy commercialism which dictated the 
Philippine policy of the Republican Administra- 
tion attempts to justify it with the plea that it 



86* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

will pay ; but even this sordid and unworthy plea 
fails when brought to the test of facts. The war 
of criminal aggression against the Filipinos, 
entailing an annual expense of many millions, 
has already cost more than any possible profit 
that could accrue from the entire Philippine trade 
for years to come. Furthermore, when trade is 
extended at the expense of liberty, the price is 
always too high. 

The Paramount Issue. 

We are not opposed to territorial expansion 
when it takes in desirable territory, which can be 
erected into States in the Union, and whose peo- 
ple are willing and fit to become American citi- 
zens. We favor expansion by every peaceful and 
legitimate means ; but we are unalterably opposed 
to seizing or purchasing of distant lands, to be 
governed outside the Constitution, and whose 
people can never become citizens. 

We are in favor of extending the Republic's 

* influence among the nations, but believe that 

influences should be extended not by force and 

violence, but through the persuasive power of a 

high and honorable example. 

Burning Issue of Imperialism. 

The importance of other questions now pend- 
ing before the American people is in no wise 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *87 

diminished, and the Democratic party takes no 
backward step from its position on them ; but the 
burning issue of Imperialism growing out of the 
Spanish war involves the very existence of the 
Republic and the destruction of our free institu- 
tions. We regard it as the paramount issue of 
the campaign. 

The declaration in the Republican platform 
adopted at the Philadelphia Convention, held in 
June, 1900, that the Republican party " stead- 
fastly adheres to the policy announced in the 
Monroe Doctrine," is manifestly insincere and 
deceptive. This profession is contradicted by 
the avowed policy of that party, in opposition to 
the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, to acquire and 
hold sovereignty over large areas of territory 
and large numbers of people in the Eastern 
Hemisphere. We insist on the strict mainten- 
ance of the Monroe Doctrine in all its integrity, 
both in letter and in spirit, as necessary to pre- 
vent the extension of European authority on this 
continent, and as essential to our supremacy in 
American affairs. At the same time, we declare 
that no American people shall ever be held 
by force in unwilling subjection to European 
authority. 

Militarism Opposed. 

We oppose militarism. It means conquest 
abroad and intimidation and oppression at home. 



£8* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

It means the strong arm which has ever been 
fatal to free institutions. It is what millions of 
our citizens have fled from in Europe. It will 
impose upon our peace-loving people a large 
standing army and unnecessary burden of taxa- 
tion and a constant menace to their liberties. 

A small standing army and a well-disciplined 
State militia are amply sufficient in time of 
peace. This Republic has no place for a vast 
military service and conscription. In time of 
danger the volunteer soldier is his country's best 
defender. The National Guard of the United 
States should ever be cherished in the patriotic 
hearts x>f a free people. Such organizations are 
ever an element of strength and safety. 

For the first time in our history and co-evil 
with the Philippine conquest has there been a 
wholesale departure from our time-honored and 
approved system of volunteer organizations. 
We denounce it as un-American, undemocratic 
and unrepublican, and as a subversion of the 
ancient and fixed principles of a free people. 

Intolerable Trusts. 

Private monopolies are indefensible and in- 
tolerable. They destroy competition, control 
the price of all material, and of the finished pro- 
duct, thus robbing both producer and consumer. 
They lessen the employment of labor, and arbi- 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *8Q 

trarily fix the terras and conditions thereof and 
deprive individual energy and small capital of 
their opportunity for betterment. 

They are the most efficient means yet devised 
for appropriating the fruits of industry to the 
benefit of the few at the expense of the many, 
and, ualess their insatiate greed is checked, all 
wealth will be aggregated in a few hands and the 
Republic destroyed. 

The dishonest paltering with the Trust evil 
by the Republican party in State and National 
platforms is conclusive proof of the truth of the 
charge that Trusts are the legitimate product of 
Republican policies ; that they are fostered by 
Republican laws and that they are protected by 
the Republican Administration in return for 
campaign subscriptions and political support. 

Would Fight the Combines. 

We pledge the Democratic party to an un- 
ceasing warfare in Nation, State and city against 
private monopoly in every form. Existing laws 
against Trusts must be enforced, and more 
stringent ones must be enacted providing for 
publicity as to the affairs of corporations en- 
gaged in interstate commerce and requiring all 
corporations to show, before doing business out- 
side the State of their origin, that they have no 
water in their stock, and that they have not 



90* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

attempted and are not attempting to monopolize 
any branch of business or the production of any 
articles of merchandise. And the whole consti- 
tutional power of Congress over interstate com- 
merce, the mails and all modes of interstate 
communication shall be exercised by the enact- 
ment of comprehensive laws upon the subject of 

Trusts. 

Tariff laws should be amended by putting the 
products of Trusts upon the free list, to prevent 
monopoly under the plea of protection. 

A Blow at Trusts. 

The failure of the present Republican admin- 
istration, with an absolute control over all the 
branches of the National Government, to enact 
any legislation designed to prevent or even cur- 
tail the absorbing power of Trusts and illegal 
combinations, or to enforce the anti-Trust^ laws 
already on the statute books, proves the insin- 
cerity of the high-sounding phrases of the Re- 
publican platform. 

Corporations should be protected in all their 
rights, and their legitimate interests should be 
respected, but any attempt by corporations to in- 
terfere with the public affairs of the people or to 
control the sovereignty which creates them, 
should be forbidden, under such penalties as will 
make such attempts impossible. 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *9J 

Dingley Law a Trust-Breeder. 
We condemn the Dingley Tariff law as a 
Trust-breeding measure, skillfully devised to 
give the few favors which they do not require 
and to place upon the many burdens which they 
should not bear. 

We favor such an enlargement of the scope of 
the Interstate Commerce law as will enable the 
Commission to protect individuals and commun- 
ities from discriminations and the public from 
unjust and unfair transportation rate's. 

The 16 to 1 Plank. 
We reaffirm and indorse the principles of the 
National Democratic platform adopted at Chicago 
in 1896, and we reiterate the demand of that 
platform for an American financial system made 
by the American people for themselves, which 
shall restore and maintain a bimetallic price level 
and as part of such system the immediate resto- 
ration of free and unlimited coinage of silver and 
gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to i without 
waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation. 

The Currency Bill. 
We denounce the Currency bill enacted at the 
last session of Congress as a step forward in the 
Republican policy which aims to discredit the 
sovereign right of the National Government to 
issue all money, whether coin or paper, and to 



92* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

bestow upon national banks the power to issue 
and control the volume of paper money for their 
own benefit. A permanent national bank cur- 
rency, secured by the Government bonds, must 
have a permanent debt to rest upon, and if the 
bank currency is to increase with population and 
business the debt must also increase. The Re- 
publican currency scheme is, therefore, a scheme 
for fastening upon the taxpayers a perpetual 
and growing debt for the benefit of the banks. 
We are opposed to this private corporation paper 
circulated as money, but without legal tender 
qualities, and demand the retirement of the na- 
tional bank notes as fast as this Government 
paper and silver certificates can be substituted 

for them. 

Senators by Popular Vote. 

We favor an amendment to the Federal Con- 
stitution providing for the election of United 
States Senators by direct vote of the people, and 
we favor direct legislation wherever practicable. 

We are opposed to government by injunction; 
we denounce the blacklist and favor arbitration 
as a means of settling disputes between corpora- 
tions and their employes. 

Department of Labor. 

In the interest of American labor and the up- 
lifting of the workingman, as the corner-stone of 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *93 

the prosperity of our country, we recommend 
that Congress create a Department of Labor, in 
charge of a secretary, with a seat in the Cabinet, 
believing that the elevation of the American 
laborer will bring with it increased prosperity to 
our country at home and to our commerce abroad. 

American Soldiers. 

We are proud of the courage and fidelity of 
the American soldiers and sailors in all our 
wars; we favor liberal pensions to them and 
their dependents, and we reiterate the position 
taken in the Chicago platform of 1896, that the 
fact of enlistment and service shall be deemed 
conclusive evidence against disease and disability 
before enlistment. 

For the Nicaragua Canal. 

We favor the immediate construction, owner- 
ship and control of the Nicaragua Canal by the 
United States, and we denounce the insincerity 
of the plank in the late Republican platform for 
an isthmian canal in face of the failure of the 
Republican majority to pass the pending bill in 
Congress. 

We condemn the Hay-Pauncefote treaty as a 
surrender of American rights and interests not 
to be tolerated by the American people. 



94* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900- 

New States. 

We denounce the failure of the Republican 
party to carry out its pledges, to grant Statehood 
to the Territories of Arizona, New Mexico and 
Oklahoma, and we promise the people of those 
Territories immediate Statehood and home rule 
during their condition as Territories; and we 
favor home rule and a territorial form of Govern- 
ment for Alaska and Porto Rico. 

We favor an intelligent system of improving 
the arid lands of the West, storing the waters for 
purposes of irrigation, and the holding of such 
lands for actual settlers. 

We favor the continuance and strict enforce- 
ment of the Chinese Exclusion act and its appli- 
cation to the same classes of all Asiatic races. 

No Entangling Alliances. 

Jefferson said : " Peace, commerce and honest 
friendship with all nations ; entangling alliances 
with none." We approve this wholesome doc- 
trine and earnestly protest against the Repub- 
lican departure which has involved us in so-called 
politics, including the diplomacy of Europe and 
the intrigue and land-grabbing of Asia, and we 
especially condemn the ill-concealed Republican 
alliance with England, which must mean dis- 
crimination against other friendly nations, and 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *95 

which has already stifled the nation's voice while 
liberty is being strangled in Africa. 

Sympathy for the Boers. 

Believing in the principles of self-government, 
and rejecting, as did our forefathers, the claim of 
monarchy, we view with indignation the purpose 
of England to overwhelm with force the South 
African Republics. Speaking as we do, for the 
entire American nation, except its Republican 
office-holders, and for all free men everywhere, 
we extend our sympathies to the heroic burghers 
in their unequal struggle to maintain their lib- 
erty and independence. 

We denounce the large appropriations of 
recent Republican Congresses, which have kept 
taxes high and which threaten the perpetuation 
of oppression in war levies. 

Extravagance Opposed. 
We oppose the accumulation of a surplus to 
be squandered in such barefaced frauds upon the 
taxpayers as the Shipping Subsidy bill, which, 
under the false pretense of prospering American 
ship-building, would put unearned millions into 
the pockets of favorite contributors to the Re- 
publican campaign fund. We favor the reduc- 
tion and speedy repeal of the war taxes and a 
return to the time-honored Democratic policy of 
strict economy in governmental expenditures. 



96* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

Believing that our most cherished institutions 
are in great peril ; that the very existence of our 
Constitutional Republic is at stake, and that the 
decision now to be rendered will determine 
whether or not our children are to enjoy those 
blessed privileges of free government which have 
made the United States great, prosperous and 
honored, we earnestly ask for the foregoing de- 
claration of principles the hearty support of the 
liberty-loving American people, regardless of 
previous party affiliations. 

Bryan Nominated by Oldham. 

Deputy Attorney General W. D. Oldham, of 
Nebraska, in nominating William J. Bryan for 

the Presidency, said : 

"With hearts unchilled by the selfish senti- 
ments of cold commercialism you have responded 
patriotically to each sentiment contained in De- 
mocracy's first platform as it was read to you at 
the opening of this Convention, and in view of 
the radical departure which the party in power 
has made from the principles set forth m that 
historic document, it is meet that we— true be- 
lievers in the republic of old— should, when 
choosing a field and forming our lines for the 
bloodless battle of ballots now pending, say in 
the language of one of the loved patriots of long 
a g : _' Read this declaration at the head of the 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *97 

army, and every sword shall be drawn from its 
scabbard and a solemn vow taken to maintain it 
or perish on the bed of honor.' 

Much of the history of this republic shall be 
either made or marred by the action of this Con- 
vention. You, as representatives of the only 
party which is co-existent with the nation itself; 
the only party which ever had within its own 
ranks sufficient constructive statesmanship to 
create a nation in which each citizen becomes a 
sovereign, have, true to the traditions you bear, 
in your platform set out in simple language, 
with a decided American accent, a plan for the 
people's redemption from each sacrilege and 
schism taught by the Republican party. 

Triumph Predicted. 

" The plan contains nothing but the approved 
precepts of the elders and doctors of your faith. 
If, on a platform, you place a candidate whose 
devoted and unblemished life shall stand as a 
pledge to the plain people that he, in good faith, 
will carry out the solemn covenants made therein' 
then the hour of our ultimate triumph is at 
hand. 

" There is no greater honor reserved for a citi- 
zen of these United States than to become the 
standard bearer of the Democratic party. 

This high distinction must not be unworthily 

7— D J 



98* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

bestowed. It must follow as a reward for noble 
actions bravely done, for unrequited, tireless toil, 
for sacrifices made and strength displayed, for 
trusts discharged and pledges kept. We must 
seek a leader whose public and private life most 
nearly exemplifies his party's highest ideals ; 
who stands unqualifiedly pledged to every issue 
we declare ; who will carry the standard we place 
in his hands, even as the Black Douglas carried 
the sacred casket that enclosed the heart of 

Bruce. . 

His Party's Savior. 

"Democratic skies are tinged with a rosier 
hue to-day than when we met in convention four 
years ago. Then the financial cataclysm had 
spread over the country, and although its every 
inducing cause was easily traced to the errors 
and follies of the Republican party, yet we were 
in power when it came, and were wrongly held 
responsible for the wreck of shattered fortunes 
which followed in its wake. 

" Torn asunder by dissensions within and dis- 
asters without, our party faced a gloomy and 
foreboding future which seemed to augur its 
dissolution. The problem then was to select a 
standard bearer bold enough to cover the rear 
of a retreat and save the party from destruc- 
tion, if not from defeat. 

" While Discord with her flaming torch con- 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *99 

fused the counsels there, from out the sunset 
realm a champion came and bade defiance to the 
oncoming host. With the strength of youth and 
the wisdom of age, with knightly mien and 
matchless speech, he towered above his peers, 
and all who saw him then with one accord did 
hail him chief and give our party's banner to his 
hand. Slowly despair gave way to hope; con- 
fidence took the place where timorous fear had 
been ; the broken, shattered columns formed 
again, and behind him, singing, came six mil- 
lion five hundred thousand valiant men to that 
unequal fight. 

An Unconquered Hero. 

" And the story of how well he fought, how 
fearlessly he fell, and how dearly the enemy's 
victory was bought, has all gone out into history 
now. 

" Back from his first battle he came, a baffled 
but unconquered hero of the rights of man. 
Conscious of the rectitude of his purpose and 
cheered by the belief that ' no issue is ever settled 
until it is settled right,' he cheerfully acquiesced 
in the result of that campaign and girded his 
loins for the next great contest between the dol- 
lar and the man. 

" For four years he has waged an unceasing 
warfare against the people's enemy, for four 



100* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

years lie has held up the party's standard, and 
his voice has cheered the hosts of Democracy in 
every State and Territory. When the trusts 
began to increase under the protection of a 
Republican administration he was the first to 
point out the danger and prescribe a remedy. 

Compared to Hercules. 

"When the alarums of a war for humanity 
roused the heroic spirit of our land he offered his 
sword to his country's cause on the day that war 

was declared. 

" When later he saw the administration depart- 
ing from the ancient landmarks of our institu- 
tions, in its enchanted dream of empire and mili- 
tarism, he was the first to raise a warning voice, 
and, resigning his commission on the day the 
treaty of peace was signed, he threw himself into 
the contest for the rescue of the Republic. 

" Realizing that imperialism, like the fabled 
Antaeus, was born of earth, and that, contended 
with upon the selfish, worldly plane of greed and 
gold, it was of giant strength, and if thrown down 
would rise again, refreshed from contact with its 
mother element, he like the mighty Hercules, 
raised it above the sordid sphere from which its 
strength was drawn, and on a plane of lofty 
patriotism he strangled it. 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *1Q1 

Party Harmony. 
With the issues now clearly drawn, no doubt 
remains as to the name of our candidate. On 
that question we are a reunited Democracy. 

u Already worthy allies, differing from us 
rather in name than faith, have shouted for our 
gallant leader again, and every State and Terri- 
tory has instructed its delegates to this Conven- 
tion to vote for him here. So it only remains for 
Nebraska to pronounce the name that has been 
thundered forth from the foot of Bunker Hill, and 
echoed back from Sierra's sunset slope, and that 
reverberates among the pine clad, snow capped 
hills of the North, and rises up from the slum- 
bering, flower scented savannahs of the South, 
and that name is the name of William Jennings 
Bryan, her best loved son." 

Speeches seconding the nomination were made 
by Perkins, of Texas ; Ex-Senator White, of Cal- 
ifornia ; Judge Thompson, of Colorado ; Lomax, 
of Alabama ; Moore, of North Carolina ; Senator 
Daniel, of Virginia; Ex-Governor Pattison, of 
Pennsylvania ; John H. Wise, of Hawaii, and 
several others, including Mrs. Cohen, of Utah, a 
delegate from that State. 

David B. Hill, in seconding the nomination of 
William J. Bryan for President, said : 

" Mr. President and Gentlemen of the 
Convention— In behalf of the Democratic 



102* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 1900. 

masses of the State of New York, for whom I 
assume to speak on this occasion, I second the 
nomination which has been made from the State 
of Nebraska. William J. Bryan does not belong 
to Nebraska alone ; he belongs to the North and 
the South, to the East and the West— he belongs 
to the whole country at large. It is a nomina- 
tion already made in the hearts and affections 
of the American people. From the closing 
of the polls four years ago until this very hour 
there never was a possibility of any other nomi- 
nation being made. 

" He is a gentleman who needs no introduc- 
tion to this audience nor to the American people. 
Nebraska is proud of him, but New York is 
proud of him also. For four years he has up- 
held the banner of Democracy in almost every 
State in the Union. His voice has been heard, 
not only in behalf of our principles, but in be- 
half of the cause of the common people, in behalf 
of the workingmen, in .behalf of humanity. He 
will have the support of his party— a united 

party. 

Strong with the Masses. 

" He is strong— strong with the masses, strong 
with the farmers, strong with the artisan- 
stronger even than his own cause. His integrity 
has never been questioned during all the time he 
has been under the gaze of the American people. 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *1Q3 

His statesmanship has been exhibited in the 
halls of Congress. No others have served dur- 
ing such a brief period that made such an im- 
pression upon the minds and hearts and con- 
science of the American people. 

This Convention, meeting here to-day in 
this most beautiful city, surrounded by this hos- 
pitable community, was indeed the proper place 
to nominate this candidate. The cause he rep- 
resents is peculiarly the cause of the people. 
His election will mean honesty and integrity in 
public office ; it will mean the amelioration of 
the people ; it will mean the destruction of crirn- 
inal trusts and monopolies ; it will mean economy 
and retrenchment in government affairs ; it will 
mean supremacy of the constitution everywhere 
throughout this land wherever the flag floats; it 
will mean a return to the advocacy of the princi- 
ples of the Declaration of Independence ; it will 
prove a blessing not only to those who vote for 
him, but to the few who may vote against him. 

Falls Into Line. 
' I, as you well know, was one of those who 
in good faith doubted the wisdom of some por- 
tions of the platform, doubted the propriety of 
going into details on certain portions of our 
financial policy, but the wisdom of this Conven- 
tion has determined otherwise, and I acquiesce 
cheerfully in the decision. 



104* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

" I am here to say further that the platform 
that has been read is worthy of the vote and ap- 
proval of every man who claims to be a Demo- 
crat in this country. Those who do not admire 
some portions cannot speak for others. If there 
are some issues which they do not desire to pre- 
sent as strongly as some others they can at least 
talk about something in this platform that is 
worthy of their approval. At least, in some 
portions of this country the paramount issue is 
going to carry and carry strongly. This is the 
time for unity and not for division. I plead to- 
night for party harmony and party success. I 
plead because of the dangers which confront us. 
If we should happen to be defeated, which I do 
not believe, what will follow ? 

What It Means. 

" It means the restoration of a federal election 
law ; it means a reduction of the apportionment 
of members of Congress throughout the South- 
ern States of our Union ; it means a consequent 
reduction in the electoral college from our 
Southern States, and the plea of necessity will 
be made because it will be apparent by election 
day that some of the newborn States of the 
West, which they had relied upon, had gone over 
to the Democratic party. 

" So I hurry to say that this is a most iinpor- 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *-jn^ 

tant election — important for our party, important 
for our country, important for the best interests 
of all our people. I have no time to analyze 
this platform.- We are speaking of men and 
not of measures now. 

This nomination will meet the approval, 
based upon this platform, of the people of the 
East. What we need is an old-fashioned, rous- 
ing Democratic victory throughout this land. 
That will mean a restoration of the currency of 
our fathers. That will mean home rule for 
States. That will mean popular government 
restored. That will mean the supremacy of 
equal laws throughout the country, and in this 
great result which we hope to achieve I am here 
to say simply in conclusion that New York ex- 
pects to join with you with her thirty-six elec- 
toral votes.'' 

Mr. Bryan's views on the issues of the cam- 
paign were freely set forth in the following senti- 
ment for Independence Day sent to an Eastern 
journal : 

" The campaign of 1896 brought out the 
greatest discussion of an economic subject this 
country has seen for a generation. The cam- 
paign of 1900 involves not only economic ques- 
tions, but political questions, reaching down to 
the fundamental principles of government. In 
1896 we were discussing the wrongs of men. 



i 



£06* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

This year we shall discuss not only the wrongs, 
but the rights of men." 



THIRD DAY OF THE CONVENTION. 

The third day of the Convention dawned with 
the accustomed cool breezes still blowing, and 
the sun somewhat less liberal with its heat. The 
streets and the hotels were still vocal with a 
mighty straggling host of Kansans and Nebrask- 
ans, and the shouters were everywhere, as in the 
small hours of the night, still letting off their 
enthusiasm. Long before the hour for the Con- 
vention to be called to order the great hall was 
filled with stout-lunged men and gaily dressed 
women. The serried lines of color around the 
galleries fluttered and buzzed with unabated love- 
liness. 

A volley of calls for favorite sons ran around 
the hall as the delegates came in and took their 
seats. The band shared the hour and more of 
waiting, and gave the crowd for the hundredth 
time " Star Spangled Banner," " Red, White and 
Blue," and " Dixie." The doorkeepers had been 
put to a sense of their responsibilities during the 
night, and the crowd that were let in on all the 
aisles to overslaugh the delegates and the press 
seats were conspicuously and agreeably absent. 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *107 

Prayer Under Difficulties. 
It was fifteen minutes to eleven when the gavel 
called for order and the long arms of Chairman 
Richardson began to undulate through the air in 
an effort to secure silence enough to give oppor- 
tunity for the opening prayer. Just as the chap- 
lain was about to utter his prayer the u camera 
fiend " discharged from a high staff a flashlight 
that set off another roar of talk. Again the noise 
suppresser began his work, and the prayer had 
its brief chance. Mr. Richardson had exchanged 
his little pink fan for a big palm leaf, which did 
good service in waving down the interruptions in 
the galleries. 

Call of the States for Nominations. 
The first instant of opportunity under the call 
of the States for nominations for Vice President 
was seized by Alabama to yield to Illinois for a 
speech from Representative Williams, of Illinois, 
to nominate Adlai E. Stevenson. The sound of 
Stevenson's name set off a little shout at the south 
end of the hall, but there was no enthusiasm ap- 
parent in the vast throng. There was a hitch in 
the recognition of Williams, and his namesake, 
George Fred, of Massachusetts, was seen arguing 
with Richardson, then as if it were a choice chance 
a shout began for him in the north gallery. 
Fully ten minutes passed before the matter 






108* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

was settled, and Williams, of Illinois, was per- 
mitted to begin. He began : 

"Illinois desires to nominate a Democrat." 
The crowd cheered the idea as if it were a new 
point. The next hit was the declaration that the 
Illinois man was " not a rongh rider bnt a swift 
rider," and this ignited a salnte from the galler- 
ies. Mr. Williams gave a long and lond descrip- 
tion of the " the man who," running in a good 
biographical snap shot of the affable and regular 
Illinoisan. When the speech closed with the 
name of Ftevenson the Convention jumped to its 
many thousand feet and, with the galleries, 
indulged in the expected shout. 

Towne's Democracy Defended, v 

Connecticut yielded to Minnesota, and a dele- 
gate, Roesing, ascended the platform to present 
the name of Charles R. Towne, and did so in a 
brilliant, strong speech for the favorite son of the 
North Star State. He bore down heavily and effec- 
tively on the declaration that Towne was a Demo- 
crat on Jeffersonian and Jacksonian principles, 
who knew and could tell why he was a Democrat. 
Moreover, it was claimed for the Minnesotan 
that he could carry the Northwest and the far 
West beyond all manner of doubt. 

The demonstration that greeted the close of 
Roesing's speech was unique and full of signifi- 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 



*109 



cance. It showed that the mandate had gone 
out for the sacrifice of Towne. The talismanic 
signal from Mr. Bryan, for which thousands of 




CHARLES R. TOWNE. 

men had been looking and praying through the 
days and nights of the Convention, was not to 
come. The rockribbed Democracy of the South 
were to be spared the humiliation of a coalition 

1 



HO* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

with the Populists, and the Silver Republicans 
were to be sent home to get what consolation 
they could for the dreadful result. The Con- 
vention sat still. With the exception of Minne- 
sota they were immovable. The Minnesota men 
waved nags and hats, and the galleries were with 
them in a mighty shout as of many waters rush- 
ing together. ^ ; 

A matronly woman in a white waist and black 
skirt, near the edge of the west gallery near the 
north end of the hall, stood bravely up with a 
poster portrait of Bryan in one hand and her 
handkerchief in the other and led the swaying, 
rhythmic chorus of cheers back and forth. She 
cheered, and the crowd began to centre its atten- 
tion on and to cheer with her. 

The Crowd Resented Restraint. 

Booming through the deafening roar the gavel 
failed to check the tide. Restraint even provoked 
resentment, and the yells reached a higher pitch. 
The galleries believed their favorite had been 
whistled down the wind by some conclave of 
bosses in the night. The more they yelled the 
stiller sat the obedient sphinxes on the floor. 
But Minnesota kept her sacrificial cry going, and 
here and there a man would rise and wave his 
hat or handkerchief. Still the woman with the 
poster kept up her pendulant swing, and the 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *\\\ 

crowd more and more timed its noise to her 
movement. 

A stout man was seen climbing over the deco- 
rations that hung from the gallery rail, and to 
go to the woman and try to stop her cheering 
but she never stopped a muscle as she gave a 
short answer hot from the tongue. The man 
turned, and it was seen that he was Representa- 
tive Shafroth, of Colorado. He leaped upon the 
railing and himself waved a flag, and made a 
gesture that seemed to say, " It's all right." The 
crowd redoubled the cheers. The band played 
" Star Spangled Banner." By this time scores 
of delegates were on their feet cheering, but New 
York and the South sat silent as the eternal hills. 
The Convention was never at one time on its feet. 

Attempts to Check the Noise. 

Chairman Richardson kept pounding, Ser- 
geant-at-Arms Martin deprecated with his fan 
but they were but puffs against the ocean of 
noise. Governor Thomas, of Colorado, was seen 
standing as if to speak, but it had no effect on 
the gale of cheers. That had the scene all to 
itself, and proposed to rage until its strength was 
exhausted. Thomas started to speak. A knot 
of students in the east gallery cried : " Towne ! 
Towne! Towne! Towne! Towne! like the 
marching tap of a drum. 



112* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

This angered Martin, the Sergeant-at-Arms, 
and he threatened to clear the galleries if the 
offending was repeated. Several times he hnrled 
this threat towards points where the name of 
Towne was heard. He told the story all too 
plainly of hard and fast instructions to suppress 
and prevent a demonstration for Towne. At last 
Ex-Senator White's megaphone voice was heard 
calling for order. " I shall move the clearance 
of the galleries if we cannot have order," he 
roared. The Thomas speech could go on, but 
there must have been little satisfaction in it, for 
little attention was paid to him, and the crowd 
kept control of the hall. 

Tammany Names Hill. 

The storm of joy at the name of Towne had 
held its sway for fifteen minutes. Here Dela- 
ware was called, and yielded for State Senator 
Grady, of New York, whose first sentence was : 
" I present to this Convention as a candidate for 
the Vice-Presidency the name of David B. Hill." 
As if a button had been touched, the scene was 
transformed into a chaos of sound and motion 
again. The Convention this time jumped up 
like one man. It was such an outburst as had 
been given before for Bryan and for Hill. The 
New York standard moved to the platform. 
Tennessee joined it. Then rapidly Alabama, 



Democratic convention, 1900. *n3 

Mississippi, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Colo- 
rado, North Dakota, Oregon and Massachusetts 
gathered there. ■ There, too, was seen the blue 
silk banner of Hawaii, but the rest staid in their 
places. Pennsylvania never moved. 

In a few minutes Senator Hill was seen gesti- 
culating in the New York delegation. Then 
he was on the platform, and stood with bowed 
head waiting to be heard. But the crowd was 
not yet through with its shout. For twenty- 
seven minutes the hundreds of applauders held 
the proceedings at a pause. High above the 
babel on the floor Croker was heard crying: 
"No! no! you must take it I " Then Grady 
went on, and Hill was seen to sit down. Grady 
ran his appointed course, speaking with a power- 
ful voice the praises of New York's favorite son. 
" He may decline," said Grady, " but decline or 
not, New York is united, and her solid 72 votes 
will be cast to the end for David Bennett HilU' 

Hill's Unheeded Protests. 

While Grady spoke Hill protested to Judge 
Van Wyck and Chairman Jones against being 
nominated. " This is unfair," he said several 
times. Van Wyck tried to persuade him to let 
the movement go on. It was clear the Conven- 
tion would then and there have made the nomi- 
nation by acclamation. Chairman Jones sym- 



/ 

114* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

pathized with Hill's feeling, and told him to get 
up and decline and lie should have his help to 
stem the tide. * The hall was throbbing with ap- 
plause, steady, loud and seemingly incapable of 
cessation. 

Now Hill rose and came forward. He raised 
his hand for silence, and slowly and regretfully 
the applause died away and he could speak. 
When he said he could not accept the nomina- 
tion, the delegates almost in one voice shouted : 
" Yes you can ! " and there were cries all along 
the galleries of " yes, yes, yes!" Again and 
again there broke in on him the cry, "You must, 
you must." The applause began as he left the 
platform and went back to his seat in the dele- 
gation. A crowd of delegates from New York 
and the adjoining States closed in about him and 
grasped him by the hand. The cheering went 
on again until once more order was secured and 
Georgia was called. 

Mr. Hutchinson, of that State, made a short 
and spirited speech seconding the nomination of 
Stevenson. "The Empire State of the South 
always rolls up a big Democratic majority, no 
matter what the platform or who the candidate." 
When Illinois was called, Mr. Kennedy, of 
Connecticut, in return for the courtesy that 
Connecticut had shown in yielding to Illinois, 
was recognized to second Stevenson. 



t'EMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *]Jf 

Lewis's Name Presented. 
Idaho yielded to Washington, and W H 
. Dunphy put in a sonorous nomination of ex- 
Representative James Hamilton Lewis, who sat 
on the edge of the platform during the encom- 
iums pronounced by his fellow Democrats His 
feet hung over the edge of the stage, and he 
bowed his blonde head and covered his face with 
his hand as if in prayer. The audience set up 
a prolonged cheer ; the hundreds of newspaper 
men joined with vociferous shouts of « Lewis 
Lewis, Lewis !" Mr. Lewis looked towards his 
friends of the press and smiled, as if he recog- 
nized that he received an ovation, the more grati- 
fying because it was, perhaps, the most intelli- 
gent applause of the day. 

Indiana gave Representative Jones, of Vir- 
ginia, opportunity to endorse Stevenson in a 
short, strong speech from the floor. 

Cato Sells, of Iowa, announced that his State 
was for Stevenson. Kansas said not a word. 
When Kentucky was called the galleries shouted 
lor Blackburn, but the gallant Kentuckiau did 
not respond. Ex-Governor McGreary, however 
made a resounding endorsement of Stevenson' 
claiming him as a native son of the State A 
Louisiana delegate spoke for David B. Hill and 
renewed the applause for the New Yorker 
Maryland, through A. Leo Knott, one of Presi' 



116 * DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

dent Cleveland's Assistant Postmaster-Generals, 
presented in an earnest way the name of Gover- 
nor Smith, of that State. 

An Appeal for Towna 
Then came George Fred Williams, with the 
endorsement of Massachusetts for Towne. Wil- 
liams reasoned, argned, talked practical and 
moral politics and appealed for consideration for 
the Sioux Falls ticket and the Silver Repub- 
licans. He spun fine compliments for New 
York, as if he feared a stampede to Hill after all, 
and declared Towne was the peer intellectually 
and morally of Bryan. 

There were interruptions from all parts of the 
floor " We want a Democrat," said some one. 

« He is as much a Democrat as any man in 
this Convention," shouted Williams, as he whirl- 
ed and sat down. . 
Minnesota gave Mr. Cummmgs, of Connecti- 
cut, a chance to secoud the Towne *™**»£ 
and another big cheer was started. Senator 
Money spoke for Mississippi, and as an exponent 
of the feeling in the South against the Populists. 

Governor Stone as a Peacemaker. 
Then a big shout arose from the north end of 
the hall, around the Missouri seats, as ex-Gover- 
nor Stone elbowed his way to the platform, the 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 



117 



cheers being encouraged by " Dixie " from the 
band. Governor Stone took the stand of a paci- 
icator. He turned down Senator Money's com- 




ADLAI K. STEVENSON. 

ment on the Populists, complimented Senator 
Teller and Towne, and declared for Stevenson. 

Nevada presented Representative Newlands as 
a Towne spokesman, and appealed for fair play 



118* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

for his man, who, he said, would be now a mem- 
ber of the Convention as a Democrat in good 
and regular standing if he had not obeye'd the 
request of the Democratic leaders in 1896 and 
remained with the Silver Republican organiza- 
tion. In closing Newlands said Towne would 
prove to the people that Lincoln Republicanism 
and Bryan Democracy were the same. 

Ex- Representative Sowden, of Allentown, 
Pennsylvania, seconded the nomination of Ste- 
venson in a speech that was heard by only a few. 
South Carolina, from the floor, declared for 
Stevenson, Tennessee for Hill. 

Jonathan Lane, a slender young man, made a 
spirited appeal for the regular old fashioned 
Democracy of which Stevenson was the type. 
He told how it made the hearts of Texans warm 
with delight when Adlai was First Assistant 
Postmaster General and knew the difference 
between Republicans and Democrats. 

Wisconsin Not Agreed. 

Then G. S. Cooper, of Superior, Wis., a next 
door neighbor of Mr. Towne, made a most earn- 
est appeal for his friend. Mr. Cooper talked 
practical politics, and tried to convince the Con- 
vention that Towne could bring more strength to 
the party than any other man, Democrat or 
otherwise, who could be named. The speech was 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *H9 

a hit. Its earnestness seemed more likely to 
produce a stampede than anything yet heard in 
the oratory of the day /but the force of this speech 
was sadly broken when, as Mr. Cooper went down 
from the platform, Mayor Rose, of Milwaukee, 
jumped up on the edge of the press gallery and 
shouted : " Mr. Chairman, I am instructed by the 
Wisconsin delegation to state that Wisconsin 
will vote for Adlai E. Stevenson." This was 
cheered just as loudly as Cooper's speech. 

The Taking of the Ballot. 

A busy hum set in with the expectation of an 
immediate roll call for votes. The Reading Sec- 
retaries stood at the end of the platform. As the 
names of the States were called the delegation 
Chairmen announced the votes of their deWa- 
tions. First one Secretary announced the result 
and then the other, so that in every part of the 
hall it was possible to keep tally and know the 
result as soon as it was known at the desk. As 
the first few States, including Arkansas, Califor- 
nia, Connecticut and Indiana, began to split their 
votes, and the name of Towne was repeated, there 
was a feeling of hope that, after all, the Minne- 
sotan might be given the fair chance for life. 

But as the list went on down to Iowa, Kansas 
and Kentucky voting solidly for Stevenson and 
plunking seventy-two votes almost in a bunch to 



120* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

his credit, it became a foregone conclusion that 
Stevenson was the coming man. New Jersey and 
New York swelled the Hill column to ninety-two 
votes. Almost as soon as Hawaii's six votes 
were cast it was seen that Stevenson had nearly 
reached the two-thirds; that Hill had but 200, 
and Towne only 127, with a half vote additional 
that came from Oklahoma. The galleries cheered 
all down the roll of States, every candidate hav- 
ing his host of admiring friends. 

A Scramble to Get with the Winner. 
At the close of the vote there was great confu- 
sion, but Tennessee was heard above the din, 
changing from Hill to Stevenson. The changes 
came hot and fast from California, Hawaii, Flor- 
ida, Nebraska, Dakota, Montana, and then the 
standards rushed up around the desk, and the 
clerks were nearly swamped with a. deluge of 
changes. After order was restored the roll of 
States that divided their votes was called, and 
they rapidly transferred the odds and ends of the 
whole column to Stevenson. The New York 
delegates had no interest in the subsequent pro- 
ceedings, and, with Croker in the lead, hurried 
out of the hall. 

* 

Nomination Made Unanimous. 
Senator Tillman moved to make the nomina- 
tion unanimous, and at 3.06 a big shout regis- 






DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *121 

tered the wish of the Convention that Adlai E 
Stevenson should be the unanimous nominee of 
the Democratic party for the office of Vice Presi- 
dent. 

Speech Nominating Stevenson. 

When the call of the roll of States was begun 
Arkansas yielded to Illinois, and Congressman 
Williams, of the latter State, made the speech 
nominating Stevenson. He said : 

"Gentlemen of the Convention: Illinois is 
grateful to Arkansas for this evidence of her 
regard. The united Democracy of Illinois de- 
sires to present to this Convention for the next 
Vice President of the United States a Democrat 
[Cheers.] One who drew his first breath from the 
pure Democratic atmosphere of old Kentucky. 

"One baptized in the great and growing 
Democracy of Illinois. One who has stood 
squarely on every Democratic platform since he 
became a voter. One who has twice represented 
in Congress a district overwhelmingly Repub- 
lican. One who is not a rough rider, but a swift 
rider. Not a warrior, but a statesman. A man 
who stands for civil government against military 
rule. A man who believes that a President of 
the United States who ignores the Constitution 
as the present Republican President has done 
must be one who loves his own glory far more 
than he loves the Republic, 



122* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

"A man who believes that American despotism 
is no better than any other despotism. A man 
who places hnman blood above hnman greed. A 
man who will not trade away the precious life of 
an American soldier for a nugget of gold in the 
Philippine Islands. A man who would not give 
the 3,000 or 3,500 brave American soldiers, 
whom McKinley has sacrificed in that hotbed of 
disease of destruction, for all the islands in the 
seas. A man who, during four years of faithful 
administration as First Assistant Postmaster 
General of the United States, demonstrated that 
he knows a Republican when he sees him in an 
office that belongs to a Democrat. [Applause.] 

" Nominate our man and you will not have to 
explain any speech made against Democracy, for 
he has never made any of that kind. A man in 
the full strength of his manhood, able to canvass 
any State in this Union. Gentlemen of the Con- 
vention, Illinois makes no exaggeration when 
she tells you that in that great State the condi- 
tions are far better, the prospects are much 
brighter for Democracy than in 1892, when our 
candidate for Vice President carried it by 30,000 
majority. We have a State ticket stronger than 
we ever had before. 

"We have but one Democracy in Illinois. We 
voice the sincere sentiment of the Democracy of 
Illinois when we ask you to nominate a man 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. *l c 



y 



whose name we will present ; a man who has 
been tried, gone through the contest, and no 
weak spots found in his armor ; a man whose 
bigh character and ability recommend him to the 
people in every part of this Republic ; a man 
who possesses all the noble attributes of a noble- 
man, great enough and good enough to be Presi- 
dent of the United States, with a platform that 
reads like a Bible, and with these two faithful 
Democrats standing together, shoulder to shoulder, 
we can sweep criminal aggression and McKinley 
liyprocrisy off the face of the earth. 

" Gentlemen of the Convention, we now pre- 
sent to you the choice of the united Democracy 
of our States, that distinguished statesman, that 
splendid, vigorous, reliable Democrat, Ex- Vice- 
President Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois." 

Ex-Congressman Sowden, of Pennsylvania, in 
seconding the nomination of Stevenson said : ' 

" On behalf of this great Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, that cast over 430,000 votes for 
the matchless leader, William Jennings Bryan, 
m 1896, I appear to second the nomination of one 
who, as Congressman, as Postmaster-General and 
as Vice-President, was ever faithful to his official 
duties and who has always been loyal to the 
Democratic party. 

" He is pre-eminently an old-fashioned Demo- 
crat, one of the plain people, always loyal to 



124* DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1900. 

their interests. As a Congressman he nniformly 
voted for such legislation as advanced the ma- 
terial prosperity of his country and the great 
mass of the people As an Executive officer, he 
was always accessible and obliging, and, as the 
presiding officer of the United States Senate he 
commanded the respect and confidence of every 
member of that high and honorable body. He is 
honest, upright and capable, and withal a Demo- 
crat. 

" You have adopted a superb platform upon 
which every Democrat can stand, and against its 
Americanism no patriotic citizen can take excep 
tion. Upon it you have nominated one of the 
grandest American statesmen of the day, William 
Jennings Bryan. If you supplement your good 
work by the nomination of Adlai E. Stevenson 
you may rest assured that it will be ratified at 
the polls next November." 

Mr. Bryan then sent the following message : 

Hon. Adlai Stevenson, Bloomington, 111. 

Accept congratulations upon your nomination. 
It was a deserved recognition of party service. 

W. J. Bryan. 



SYNOPSIS OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY 

PRINCIPLES. 

Free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to i. 

Constitution declared to follow the flag. 

" Imperialism " regarded as the paramount 
issue. 

^ Republican policy in dealing with new posses- 
sions denounced. 

Filipinos must not be citizens, though they are 
declared to be under the Constitution. 

Private monopolies condemned ; Dingley tariff 
called a trust-breeding measure. 

Gold standard legislation denounced. 

National banks denounced. 

Election of Senators by direct vote of the 
people. 

" Government by injunction " opposed. 
Arbitration as a means of settling labor dis- 
putes. 

Department of Labor favored. 

Liberal pensions to soldiers and sailors. 

Nicaragua Canal under American control ; the 
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty denounced. 

Statehood for Arizona, New Mexico and Okla- 
homa ; Territorial government for Alaska and 
Porto Rico. 

Improvement of arid lands. 

Enforcement and extension of Chinese exclu- 
sion law. 

*1 25 



PLATFORM OF THE SILVER REPUBLICANS 

At Kansas City, July 6th, 1900, the National 
Silver Republican Convention nominated W. J. 
Bryan for President by acclamation, after having 
adopted a strong silver platform, as agreed upon 
the night before by the committee on resolutions. 

There was a design in holding the Convention 
on this date and at Kansas City, as the Silver 
Republicans wished to be in touch with the 
Democrats, and it was understood beforehand 
that Mr. Bryan would be the choice of the 
party for President. 

The platform as finally adopted by the Conven- 
tion reads as follows : 

" We, the Silver Republican party, in national 
convention assembled, declare these as our prin- 
ciples, and invite the co-operation of all who 
agree therewith : 

" We are in favor of a graduated tax upon in- 
comes and, if necessary to accomplish this, we 
favor an amendment to the Constitution. 

" We believe that the United States Senators 
ought to be elected by a direct vote of the people, 
and we favor such amendment of the Constitution, 
and such legislation as may be necessary to that 

end. 

126* 



SILVER REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. *127 

Trusts. 

"Combinations, trusts and monopolies con- 
trived and arranged for the purpose of controlling 
the prices and quantity. and articles supplied to 
the public are unjust, unlawful and oppressive. 
Not only do these unlawful conspiracies fix the 
prices of commodities in many cases, but they 
invade every branch of the State and National 
government with their polluting influence and 
control the actions of their employes and de- 
pendents in private life until their influence 
actually imperils society and the liberty of the 
citizen. We declare against them. We demand 
the most stringent laws for their destruction and 
the most severe punishment of their promoters 
and maintainers and the energetic enforcement 
of such laws by the courts. 

The Inter-Oceanic Canal. 
" We believe the Monroe Doctrine to be sound 
m principle and a wise national policy and we 
demand a firm adherence thereto. We condemn 
acts inconsistent with it and that tend to make 
us parties to the interests and to involve us in 
the controversies of European nations, and to 
recognition by pending treaty of the right of 
England to be considered in the construction of 
an inter-oceanic canal. We declare that such 
canal, when constructed, ought to be controlled 



128* SILVER REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. 

by the United States in the interests of American 

nations. 

u We are in favor of the principles of direct 
legislation. In view of the great sacrifice made 
and patriotic services rendered we are in favor of 
liberal pensions to deserving soldiers, their 
widows, orphans and other dependents. We be- 
lieve that enlistment and service shonld be ac- 
cepted as conclusive proof that the soldier was 
free from disease and disability at the time of 
his enlistment. We condemn the present ad- 
ministration of the pension laws. 

Sympathy for the Boers. 
"We tender to the patriotic people of the 
South African Republics our sympathy and ex- 
press our admiration for them in their heroic 
attempts to preserve their political freedom and 
maintain their national independence. We de- 
clare the destruction of these republics and the 
subjugation of their people to be a crime against 

civilization. 

Adherence to Bimetallism. 

" We declare our adherence to the principle of 
bimetallism as the right basis of a monetary 
system under our National Constitution, a prin- 
ciple that found place repeatedly in Republican 
platforms from the demonetization of silver in 1873 
to the St. Louis Republican Convention in 1896. 



SILVER REPUBLICAN CONVENTION *129 

" We declare it to be our intention to lend our 
efforts to the repeal of the present currency law, 
winch not only repudiates the ancient and time- 
honored principles of the American people be- 
fore the Constitution was adopted, but is viola- 
tive of the principles of the Constitution itself; 
and we shall not cease our efforts until there has 
been established in its place a monetary system 
based upon the free and unlimited coinage of 
silver and gold into money at the present legal 
ratio of 16 to i by the independent action of the 
United States, under which system all paper 
money shall be issued by the government, and 
all such money coined or issued shall be a full 
legal tender in payment of all debts, public and 
private, without exception. 

War Taxes. 

" There being no longer any necessity for coll 
lectmg war taxes, we demand the repeal of the 
war taxes levied to carry on the war with Spain. 

" We favor the immediate admission into the 
Union of States the Territories of Arizona, New 
Mexico and Oklahoma. 

"We demand that our nation's promises to 
Cuba shall be fulfilled in every particular. 

" We believe the national government should 
lend every aid and encouragement and assistance 
toward the reclamation of the arid lands of the 



130* SILVER REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. 

United States and to that end we are in favor of 
a comprehensive survey thereof, and an imme- 
diate ascertainment of the water supply available 
for such reclamation, and we believe it to be the 
duty of the general government to provide for 
the construction of storage reservoirs and irriga- 
tion works so that the water supply of the arid 
region may be utilized to the greatest possible 
extent in the interest of the people, while pre- 
serving all rights of the State. 

Domestic Industries. 

" Transportation is a public necessity, and the 
means and methods of it are matters of public 
concern. Railway companies exercise a power 
over industries, business and commerce which 
they ought not to do, and should be made to 
serve the public interests without making un- 
reasonable charges or unjust discrimination. 

Favor Public Ownership. 

" We observe with satisfaction the growing sen- 
timent among the people in favor of the public 
ownership and operation of public utilities. 

" We are in favor of expanding our commerce 

iu the interests of American labor and for the 

benefit of all our people by every honest and 

peaceful means. Our creed and our history 

1 justify the nations of the earth in expecting that 



SILVER REPUBLICAN" CONVENTION. *13l 

wherever the American flag is unfurled in au- 
thority, human liberty and political liberty will 
be found. We protest against the adoption of 
any policy that will change, in the thought of 
the world, the meaning of our flag. 

" We are opposed to the importation of Asiatic 
laborers in competition with American labor and 
a more rigid enforcement of the laws relating 
thereto. 

" The Silver Republican party of the United 
States in the foregoing principles seek to perpet- 
uate the spirit and to adhere to the teachings of 
Abraham Lincoln." 

Canal Plank Changed. 

A substitute for the Nicaraguan Canal, pro- 
viding that the canal be immediately constructed, 
and that it be built, owned and defended by the 
United States, was adopted. 

The platform was adopted with a thunder of 
" ayes." 

A wrangle followed the introduction of a reso- 
lution by a Nebraska delegate making the por- 
trait of Lincoln the party emblem. Congress- 
man Shafroth, of Colorado, objected, on the 
ground that such action would make the ballots 
illegal in several States. The resolution was 
finally withdrawn. 



132* SILVEK REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. 

Bryan Nomination Quickly Made. 

Senator Teller launched into an eloquent trib- 
ute to Bryan. He knew every other Democrat 
of prominence in the party, and he asserted that 
there was not one of them who had a ghost of a 
chance of a nomination, nor had they had any 
such chance since 1896, 

Long-continued cheering followed the nomina- 
tion. Delegates stood on their chairs, waved 
hats and flags, and shouted acclaims of the 
Nebraska statesman until they could shout no 

more. 

H. S. Hazzard, of California, made the first 
seconding speech of the nomination of Bryan, 
and he was followed by Senator Ransom, of 
Nebraska, who declared that the Silver Republi- 
cans of Nebraska were not for Bryan because he 
is from Nebraska, but because he is an American 
and has no English ideas. Senator Ransom 
concluded : " We nominate him as the incarna- 
tion and personification of Americanism." 

At the afternoon session Mr. Towne asked the 
Convention not to nominate him for the Vice- 
Presidency, and asked the support of the silver 
Republicans for the Democratic nominee. 

By a practically unanimous vote the Conven- 
tion referred the Vice-Presidential nomination to 
the national committee, with plenary powers, 
a?A th? Convention adjourned sine die. 



NATIONAL PBOHIB1THHT PLATFORM. *1 3£ 

NATIONAL PROHIBITION PLATFORM. 

At the large and enthusiastic National Prohibi- 
>on Convent 10 n held at Chicago, June a 7 and 
28, 1900, Hon. John G. Wooley, of Illinois 
was no^nated for President, and Hon. Henry 

dent Th f n ^ Island > for Vi - P -sf- 

adopted 0ll ° Wlng Pktform WaS — —sly 

1. We accept and assert the definition given 
by Edmund Burke that << a party is a bofy of 

ZMT t0gether / or the P-pose of promot- 
ing by their jomt endeavor, that national interest 
upon some particular principle upon which they 
are all agreed." We declare that there is no 
principle now advocated, by any other party 
wh lc h could be made a fact of government wth 
such beneficent moral and material results as the 
pnncxple of Prohibition applied to the beverage 
liquor traffic ; that the national interest could be 
promoted m no other way so surely and widely 
as by its adoptmn and assertion through 
tional policy and the co-operation therein of 
every State, forbidding the manufacture, sale 
ex P or tat importation and transportation of 

intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes. 

We submit that the Democratic and Repub- 
lican parties are alike insincere in their assumed 
hostility to trusts and monopolies. They dare 



134* NATIONAL PROHIBITION PLATFORM. 

not and do not attack the most dangerous of 
them all, the liquor power. So long as the 
saloon debauches the citizen and breeds the pur- 
chasable voter, money will continue to buy its 
way to power. Break down this traffic, elevate 
manhood, and a sober citizenship will find a way 
to control dangerous combinations of capital. 

The Issue Presented. 
2 We re-affirm as true and indisputable the 
declaration of William Windom when Secretary 
of the Treasury in the Cabinet of President 
Arthur that " Considered socially, financially, 
politically or morally, the licensed liquor traffic 
is or ought to be the overwhelming issue m 
American politics, and that the destruction of 
this iniquity stands next on the calendar of the 

world's progress." 

We hold that the existence of our party pre- 
sents this issue squarely to the American people 
and lays upon them the responsibility of choice 
between liquor parties, dominated by distillers 
and brewers, with their policy of saloon perpet- 
uation breeding waste, wickedness, woe, pauper- 
ism, taxation, corruption and crime, and our one 
party of patriotic and moral principle, witn a 
policy which defends it from domination by cor- 
rupt bosses and which insures it forever against 
the blighting control of saloon politics. 



NATIONAL PROHIBITION PLATFORM. *135 

The President Arraigned. 

3. We charge upon President McKinley, who 
was elected to his high office by appeal to Chris- 
tian sentiment and patriotism almost unprece- 
dented and by a combination of moral influence 
never before seen in this country, that, by his 
conspicuous example as a wine-drinker at public 
banquets and as a wine-serving host in the 
White House, he has done more to encourage 
the liquor business, to demoralize the temperance 
habits of young men, and to bring Christian 
practices and requirements into disrepute, than 
any other President this Republic has had. 

We further charge upon President McKinley 
responsibility for the army canteen, with all its 
dire brood of disease, immorality, sin and death, 
in this country, in Cuba, in Porto Rico and the 
Philippines; and we insist that by his attitude 
concerning the canteen, and his apparent con- 
tempt for the vast number of petitions and peti- 
tioners protesting against it, he has outraged and 
insulted the moral sentiment of this country, in 
such a manner, and to such a degree, as calls 
for its righteous uprising and his indignant and 
effective rebuke. 

Foreign Liquor Power Condemned. 

4. We deplore the fact that an administration 
of this Republic claiming the right and power 



136* NATIONAL PROHIBITION PLATFORM. 

to carry our flag across the seas, and to conquer 
and annex new territory, should admit its lack 
of power to prohibit the American saloon on 
subjugated soil, or should openly confess itself 
subject to liquor sovereignty under that flag. 

We are humiliated, exasperated and grieved,, 
by the evidence painfully abundant, that this 
administration's policy of expansion is bearing 
so rapidly its first fruits of drunkenness, insan- 
ity and crime under the hot-house sun of the 
tropics ; and that when the President of the first 
Philippine Commission said, " It was unfortu- 
nate that we introduced and established the 
saloon there, to corrupt the natives and to exhibit 
the vices of our race," we charge the inhumanity 
and unchristianity of this act upon the adminis- 
tration of William McKinleyand upon the party 
which elected and would perpetuate the same. 

5. We declare that the only policy which the 
government of the United States can of right up- 
hold as to the liquor traffic, under the national 
constitution, upon any territory under military 
or civil control of that government, is the policy 
of prohibition ; that " to establish justice, insure 
domestic tranquility, provide for the common de- 
fence, promote the general welfare, and insure 
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our pos- 
terity," as the Constitution provides, the liquor 
traffic must neither be sanctioned nor tolerated, 



NATIONAL PROHIBITION PLATFORM. *137 

and that the revenue policy, which makes our 
government a partner with distillers and brewers 
and bar-keepers, is a disgrace to our civilization, 
an outrage upon humanity and a crime against 
God. 

We condemn the present administration at 
Washington because it has repealed the prohi- 
bitory laws in Alaska, and has given over the 
partly civilized tribes there to be the prey of the 
American grog-shop ; and because it has entered 
upon a license policy in our new possessions by 
incorporating the same in the recent act of Con- 
gress in the code of laws for the government of 
the Hawaiin Islands. 

Call to Moral and Christian Citizenship. 

6. One great religious body (the Baptist) hav- 
ing truly declared of the liquor traffic "that it 
has no defensible right to exist, that it can never 
be reformed, that it stands condemned by its 
unrighteous fruits as a thing un-Christian, un- 
American, and perilous utterly to every interest 
in life;" another great religious body (the Meth- 
odist) having as truly asserted and reiterated 
that " no political party has a right to expect, 
nor should it receive, the votes of Christian men 
so long as it stands committed to the license 
system, or refuses to put itself on record in an 
attitude of open hostility to the saloon;" other 



138* NATIONAL PROHIBITION PLATFORM. 

great religious bodies having made similar deliv- 
erances, in language plain and unequivocal, as to 
the liquor traffic and the duty of Christian citi- 
zenship in opposition thereto; and the fact being 
plain and undeniable that the Democratic party 
stands for license, the saloon and the canteen, 
while the Republican party, in policy and ad- 
ministration, stands for the canteen, the saloon 
and the revenue therefrom, we declare ourselves 
justified in expecting that Christian voters every- 
where shall cease their complicity with the liquor 
curse by refusing to uphold a liquor party, and 
shall unite themselves with the only party which 
upholds the Prohibition policy, and for which for 
nearly thirty years has been the faithful defender 
of the church, the home and the school, against 
the saloon, its expanders and perpetuators, their 
actual and persistent foes. 

We insist that no differences of belief, as to 
any other question or concern of government, 
should stand in the way of such a union of moral 
and Christian citizenship as we hereby invite, for 
the speedy settlement of this paramount moral, 
industrial, financial and political issue, which 
our party represents ; and we refrain from declar- 
ing ourselves upon all minor matters, as to which 
differences of opinion may exist, that hereby we 
may offer to the American people a platform so 
broad that all can stand upon it who desire to see 



NATIONAL PROHIBITION PLATFORM. *139 

sober citizenship actually sovereign over the 
allied hosts of evil, sin and crime, in a govern- 
ment of the people, by the people and for the 
people. 

We declare that there are but two real parties 
to-day, concerning the liquor traffic. Perpetua- 
tionists and Prohibitionists; and that patriotism, 
Christianity and every interest of genuine Re- 
publicanism and pure Democracy, beside the 
loyal demands of our common humanity, require 
the speedy union, in one solid phalanx at the 
ballot-box, of all who oppose the liquor traffic's 
perpetuation and who covet endurance for this 
republic. 




o 

O 

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P- 

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OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 



FACTS ABOUT CUBA. 

HE area of Cuba is about equal to that of 
Pennsylvania, the length being 760 miles, 
and the width varying from 35 to 130 
miles. The productive soil, mineral wealth and 
climatic conditions of the island entitle it to rank 
among the foremost communities of the world. 
The soil is a marvel of richness, and fertilizers 
are seldom used, unless in the case of tobacco, 
even though the same crops be grown on the 
same land for a hundred years, as has happened 
in some of the old sugar-cane fields. The moun- 
tains are of coral formation, while the lowlands 
of Eastern Cuba at least seem to be composed 
largely of fossils of sea matter from prehistoric 
times, and are extremely rich in lime and phos- 
phate, which accounts for the inexhaustible fer- 
tility of the soil. 

Products of Cuba. 
Although founded and settled more than fifty 
years before the United States, Cuba lias still 
13^000,000 acres of primeval forests; mahogany, 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 



cedar, logwood, redwood, ebony, lignum-vitae and 
caiguaran (which is more durable in the ground 
than iron or steel) are among the woods. If all 
the land suitable to the growth of sugar-cane 
were devoted to that industry, it is estimated that 
Cuba might supply the entire Western Hemib- 

phere with sugar. 

The island has already produced in a single 
year for export 1,000,000 tons, and its capabilities 
have only been in the experimental stage. The 
adaptability of the soil for tobacco culture has 
long been known. Cuba takes great pride 111 the 
quality of her coffee, and until the war the plan- 
tations were flourishing. The land is not suited 
to the cultivation of cereals. 

The tobacco crop on an average is estimated at 
560,000 bales (one bale is no pounds), 338,000 
bales being exported, and the remainder used m 
cigar and cigarette manufacture in Havana. 

Principal Cities. 
The several principal cities of Cuba are thus 
described, and the information will be especially 
interesting and instructive at this time, when 
they are under the control of the United States : 
Habana (Havana), the capital city of the province 
of that name and of the Island of Cuba, is situ- 
ated on the west side of Havana Bay, on a penin- 
sula of level land of limestone formation, and is 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 



on the narrowest part of the island. Its strategic 
position at the month of the Gulf of Mexico, has 
aptly given it the name of the Key of the Gulf, 
and a symbolic key is emblazoned in its coat of 



arms. 



_ The entrance to the harbor, guarded on one 
side by the Morro and the frowning heights of 
La Cabana Fort, and on the other by the Punta 
and Reina batteries, is narrow, but expands into 
a wide and deep harbor, where a thousand ships 
can safely ride. Havana is a strongly fortified 
place, surrounded by imposing fortifications, such 
as the Cabana, Morro Castle, Castillo del Prin- 
cipe, Fort Atares, Punta Reina Battery and Fort 
No. 4. The streets are generally narrow in the 
older part of the city, but outside the walls are 
many wide avenues. 

The city also contains many notable buildings, 
as the Cathedral, formerly a Jesuit convent ; the 
palace of the government, fine private residences 
public parks, and statues of Columbus, Fernando 
VII, Isabel III., etc. There are many churches 
and convents, a commemorative chapel fronts the 
palace, dose to a large ceiba tree, under which 
Diego Velasquez, the founder of the city, cele- 
brated mass in 15 19. There are numerous cigar 
and cigarette factories, tanneries, manufactories 
of sweetmeats, rum, candles, gas, beer, carriages, 
soap, perfumery, glycerine, etc. 



4 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

Climate and Population. 
The population of Havana, from reliable offi- 
cial estimate, is about 220,000. Its principal 
exports to the United States consist of tobacco, 
fruit, wax and honey, sugar and molasses. All 
kinds of breadstuffs, lumber, coal and machinery 
are imported from the United States. The cli- 
mate is generally warm and humid, and marked 
by two clearly defined seasons — the wet and dry, 
the former ranging from June to December ; Sep- 
tember and October being considered the hurri- 
cane months. The trade winds blow generally 
with great regularity, and the heat of the day is 
cooled by evening breezes. 

City of Matanzas. 

Matanzas is beautifully situated on Matanzas 
Bay, on the north coast of Cuba, sixty miles east 
of Havana. It is divided into three parts by riv- 
ers, the principal business part occupying the 
central portion, and extending west one and one- 
half miles. The chief warehouses, distilleries, 
and sugar refineries are on the south of the river 
San Juan, easily accessible to railroads and light- 
ers. The population is 49>3 8 4, and tnat of 
Matanzas province 271,000, according to the lat- 
est census. The principal industries are rum 
distilling, sugar-refining, and manufacture of 
guava j elly . There are railroad car and machine 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 5 

shops. The climate is fine, and Matanzas is con- 
sidered trie healthiest city on the island. With 
proper drainage and sanitary arrangements, yel- 
low fever and malaria wonld be almost unknown. 

The Oldest City. 

Santiago de Cuba, the second city in size on 
the island, with a population of about 60,000, is 
probably the oldest city of any size on this hemi- 
sphere, having been founded by Velasquez in 
15 14. It fronts on a beautiful bay six miles long 
and two miles wide, on the south-eastern coast of 
Cuba, 100 miles west of Cape May si. The mean 
temperature in summer is 88 degrees ; in winter, 
82 degrees. It is regarded as very unhealthy, 
yellow fever being prevalent throughout the year 
and small-pox epidemic at certain times. These 
conditions are due to the lack of sanitary and 
hygienic measures ; all refuse matter as well as 
dead dogs, cats, chickens, etc., being thrown into 
the streets to decay and fill the air with disease 
germs. 

When General Wood became military governor 
of Santiago the first work he did was to clean up 
the city and wage a fight with dirt, disease and 
death. He literally reformed the gutters. Under 
his wise and efficient administration the sick and 
death rates were greatly reduced, and the city 
was made habitable and healthy. A railroad 



6 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

called the Sabanilla and Maroted, runs from the 
city to San Luis, twenty-five miles distant, with 
a branch to Alto Songo, twelve in length. It is 
largely owned and controlled by citizens of the 
United States. 

Santiago is the headquarters for three large 
mining plants owned by United States citizens, 
viz., the Jurugua, the Spanish American, and the 
Sigua, together representing the investment of 
about $8,000,000; the last named are not in 
operation. Santiago is the capital of this prov- 
ince and oriental region. There are a number 
of tobacco factories, but the chief business is 
the exporting of raw materials and the impor- 
tation of manufactured goods and provisions. 
Sugar, iron ore, manganese, mahogany, hides, 
wax, cedar and tobacco are* exported to the United 
States. 

City and Harbor of Cienfuegos. 

Cienfuegos is on a peninsula in the Bay of 
Iagua, six miles from the sea. The depth of 
water at the anchorage in the harbor is 27 feet, 
and at the different wharves from 14 to 16 feet. 
The commercial importance of the place was rec- 
ognized as long ago as 1850, and has increased 
with the development of the sugar industry. 
This port is now the centre of the sugar trade 
for the south of the island. It is connected by 



oCJR NEW POSSESSIONS. 



rail with Havana and the principal points on the 
north of the island. The population is abont 
30,000. Sugar and tobacco are exported to the 
United States, and soap and ice are manufactured. 

The climate from December 1st to May 1st is 
dry and moderately warm, the temperature rang- 
ing from 60 degrees to 78 degrees during the day 
and falling several degrees at night. At this 
season almost constant winds prevail from the 
north-east or north-west, accompanied by clouds 
of dust. For the rest of the year the tempera- 
ture ranges from 75 degrees to 93 degrees, de- 
scending a few degrees at night. 

During this season there are frequent and 
heavy rainfalls and windstorms. The yellow 
fever is then epidemic. But little attention is 
given by the municipal authorities to hygienic 
or to sanitary measures. Water for household 
purposes is insufficiently supplied by two small 
plants, the principal source being the Jicotea 
river, 10 miles distant. 

Trinidad de Cuba. 

This town is located on a slope of the moun- 
tain called La Vijia (Lookout), which has an ele- 
vation of about 900 feet above sea level. The 
port, Casilda, lies about one league to the south; 
the harbor is almost landlocked, and has very 
little depth. Vessels drawing 10 feet 6 inches 



8 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

are liable to run aground with the least deviation 
from the tortuous channel. About half a mile 
west of Trinidad is the River Guarabo, navig- 
able for small boats only. Four miles east lies 
Masio Bay, which will accommodate deep-draft 
vessels. The population numbers about 18,000. 
Sugar and a little honey are exported. The cli- 
mate is very healthy, the death rate being 21 to 
26 per 1,000, though sanitary measures are al- 
most unknown. The town is so situated that 
the heavier it rains the cleaner it becomes. The 
town and vicinity are the healthiest in Cuba. 



THE ISLAND OF PORTO RICO. 




HE island of Porto Rico, over which the flag 
j of the United States was raised in token 
of formal possession on October 18, 1898, 
is the most eastern of the Greater Antilles in the 
West Indies and is separated on the east from 
the Danish island of St. Thomas by a distance of 
about fifty miles, and from Hayti on the west by 
the Mona passage, seventy miles wide. The 
interior localities feel the effect of nearness to 
the sea as the island is not so extensive as to 
remove any part of it far from the ocean. The 
climate is of course tropical. 

The island is parallelogram in general out- 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 9 

line, 108 miles from east to the west, and from 
37 t0 43 miles across, the area being about 3,600 
square miles, or somewhat less than half that of 
the State of New Jersey (Delaware has 2,050 
square miles and Connecticut 4,990 square miles). 
The population according to an enumeration 
made in 1887 was 79 8 , 565, of whom 474,933 were 
whites, 246,647 mulattoes, and 76,905 negroes. 
The present estimated population is 900,000. 

Porto Rico is unusually fertile, and its domi- 
nant industries are agriculture and lumbering. 
In elevated regions the vegetation of the temper- 
ate zone is not unknown. There are more than 
500 varieties of trees found in the forests, and 
the plains are full of palm, orange, and other 
trees. The principal crops are sugar, coffee, to- 
bacco, cotton, and maize, but bananas, rice, pine- 
apples, and many other fruits are important 
products. The largest article of export from 
Porto Rico is coffee, which is over 63 per cent, of 
the whole. The next largest is sugar, 28 per 
cent. The other, exports in order of amount are 
tobacco, honey, molasses, cattle, timber, and 
hides. 

The principal minerals found in Porto Rico 
are gold, carbonates and sulphides of copper and 
magnetic oxide of iron in large quantities. Lig- 
nite is found at Utuado and Moca, and also yellow 
amber. A large variety of marbles, limestones, 



1 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

and other building stones are deposited on the 
island, but these resources are very undeveloped. 
There are salt works at Guanica and Salinac on 
the south coast, and at Cape Rojo on the west, 
and these constitute the principal mineral in- 
dustry in Porto Rico. 

There are 137 miles of railway, with 170 miles 
under construction, and 470 miles of telegraph 
lines. These connect the capital with the prin- 
pal ports south and west. Submarine cables run 
from San Juan to St. Thomas and Jamaica. The 
principal cities are Ponce, 40,000 inhabitants; 
Arecibo with 30,000, and San Juan, the capital, 

with 25,000. 

At present Porto Rico is governed as a mili- 
tary department of the United States. 

In this beautiful island, under new auspices, 
doubtless there will spring up eventually a num- 
ber of inviting winter resorts and sanitaria. For 
In the winter and early spring Porto Rico is less 
subject than even Cuba to chilling winds, blow- 
ing out from freezing anti-cyclones that move 
east off the American coast toward Bermuda. 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. J 1 

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

fHE war between Spain and the United 
States directed public attention to the 
M Philippine Islands, and the victory of tbe 
United States naval squadron and land forces at 
Manila has emphasized the great resources of 
these islands. Under the circumstances, a gen- 
eral review of some of the industries of the islands 
will be interesting. 

In 1834, the port of Manila, the capital of the 
islands, was opened to resident foreign merchants 
but before that date the Philippine Islands were 
little known in the foreign markets and commer- 
cial centres of Europe. So decided was the spirit 
of exclusiveness and abhorrence of foreign inter- 
course that the Spaniards, im 1738, preferred a 
war with England to the fulfillment of a con- 
tract, for freer commerce, entered into under the 
treaty of Utrecht. 
_ Before 1834 a Mr. Butler applied for permis- 
sion to reside in and open up a trade between 
Manila and foreign ports, but the application 
was promptly rejected, though subsequently the 
American firm of Russell & Sturgis, having the 
support of the Governor-General, made a similar 
application, which was successful, and since then 
many foreigners have settled in the open ports 
of the Philippine Islands for business purposes 



12 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

Banks have been established and other agencies 
necessary to facilitate and promote trade are now 
a part of the business machinery of the islands. 
During the reign of Isabella II. (1833-1868) a 
Philippine coin was issued, and about the year 
1868 gold coin sold for less than the nominal value 
in silver, and as much as 10 per cent, was paid to 
exchange an onza of gold ($16) for silver. _ In 
1878 gold and silver were worth their nominal 
relative value, and gold gradually disappeared 
from the islands, large quantities being exported 
to China. At the beginning of 1885 as much as 
10 per cent, premium was paid for Philippine 
gold of the Isabella II. or any previous coinage, 
but at the present day gold is obtainable in lim- 
ited quantities and about the same rate as sight 
drafts on Europe. 

Commercial Wants of the Philippines. 
The wants of the people with whom our com- 
merce must be carried on are as simple as their 
manner of living. The most northerly point of 
the Philippines is south of Santiago de Cuba, 
and American goods, to be salable, must be suit- 
able for use in a peculiarly tropical clime. They 
must also be thrown upon the market at from 50 
per cent, to 100 per cent, less than they bring in 
the United States. The clothes of men and 
women alike usually consist of plain garments 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 13 

of cotton and duck, and are of Indian and Chinese 
manufacture. It is at least doubtful whether we 
could successfully compete in the sale of such 
goods. 

The food of the natives consist of rice and 
fruit, grown at their doors, and fish, in which the 
waters of the island abound. We have nothing 
to offer them in the way of foodstuffs. We can- 
not export sugar and rice to the Philippines, and 
must undersell the cotton goods of India and 
China to get into the market. 

The best prospect, and an inviting one, for the 
employment of American labor and capital in 
this new field is in the erection and operation of 
factories, either in China or on the islands them- 
selves, not only to supply the Filipinos with 
articles for their own use and consumption, 
but to utilize in these factories the raw material 
of the Philippines that is now furnishing employ- 
ment to the factories of other nations from whom 
we buy the manufactured article. Again, the 
Philippine Islands will furnish us a manufac- 
turing base for the supply of the Oriental market. 

Opportunities for Agriculture. 

Agriculture lias never flourished in the islands. 

Before competition in other colonies became so 

active there were fair remunerative returns from 

the cultivation of hemp and sugar— the main 



14 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

staple products ; labor was then cheaper, as were 
the beasts for tilling the soil ; the necessities of 
the laboring class were fewer, and though the 
aggregate production was not so large, the natives 
were in a sounder position than the same class 
are generally now. It would seem that in pass- 
ing from the primitive to a more civilized state 
one may look back with fond regret to the simple 
wants of the former as compared with those of 

the latter. 

The staple food of the islanders is rice, which 
is cultivated more or less largely in every prov- 
ince, and is the only branch of agriculture in 
which the lower classes of natives take a visible 
pleasure and which they understand ; but much 
of the land formerly devoted to rice cultivation 
is now devoted to cultivating sugar-cane, which 
yields a more valuable return. 

Hemp is another staple industry. The hemp 
plant grows in many parts of the islands, and the 
leaves so closely resemble those of the banana 
that it is difficult to distinguish between them, 
those of the hemp plant being of a darker hue 
and greener. The plant seems to thrive best on 
an inclined plane, and though requiring a con- 
siderable amount of moisture, it will not thrive 
in swampy land, and must be shaded by other 
trees to attain any great height. The average 
height of the tree is about ten feet, and being 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 



1* 



D 



endogenous, the stem is enclosed in layers of half- 
round petioles. 

Cultivation of Coffee. 

The cultivation of coffee dates from the early 
part of the present century, and some of the 
original trees are still alive and bearing fruit, 
but after twenty-five years the tree does not bear 
profitably. The best coffee comes from Sugon 
Island, embracing the provinces of Batangas, La 
Laguna and Cavite. There is one crop gathered 
m the Philippean Islands. In the West Indies 
the beans are found during eight months of the 
twelve, and in Brazil there are three gatherings 
annually. 

The tobacco seed was introduced into the 
Philippines from Mexico by Spanish mission- 
aries soon after the possession of the islands by 
Spam, and, from the islands, into the south of 
China in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. 
The Spanish Government for a long time en- 
joyed a monopoly of the tobacco trade, but the 
monopoly ceased in 1882, and the cultivation 
and trade were handed over to a private enter- 
prise. The Manila cigar has a world-wide repu- 
tation, and under better cultivation the quality 
can be improved. 

In addition to the industrial products named 
the soil and climate of the islands are favorable 



1 L 5 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

to the cultivation of Indian corn, cotton, choco- 
late and the bamboo, and all kinds of tropical 
fruit. It may be said that the Philippine Islands, 
under the rule of a just government and an intel- 
ligent system of cultivation, would become rich 
in mineral and agricultural products, and a valu- 
able possession, strategically and otherwise. 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 

(£7Y STUDY of this new territory reveals some 
LA interesting facts. The islands were dis- 
s^\^ covered in 1720 by Captain James 
Cook, an English navigator. For some abstruse 
reason, probably because they were too far away 
to be of any service to any of her colonies, Eng- 
land never took possession of the islands. In 
fact, her course toward them has been one equiv- 
alent to the relinquishment of whatever rights 
she had to the islands. 

Since the islands were discovered attempts 
have been made to establish a government on 
them, once by an English body of colonists, and 
once by French colonists. Both, however, were 
abandoned in due course of time, neither the 
English nor French Government thinking it wise 
or worth while to give official sanction to the 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 1 7 

same. After awhile a monarchy arose, but a 
revolution, in which the good offices of the' United 
States troops were found necessary, put an end to 
it. It was this revolution which made Queen I4I 
abdicate the throne. Later on, the government 
became a republic, and it came into the United 
States as such, and has been provided with a ter- 
ritorial government. 

Number of Square Miles. 
_ The Hawaiian Islands are 15 in number, are a 
little over 2,500 miles from San Francisco, and 
have a coast over 800 miles long. Altogether 
they comprise about 6,640 square miles. The 
shortest distance between any of the islands is 
five miles, while some of the islands are at least 
25 miles apart. Five of the islands do not pos- 
sess a single inhabitant. The chief island is 
Oahu, which contains 600 square miles, and has 
a population of 40,205. Upon this island is situ- 
ated Honolulu, which is the seat of Government, 
or, in other words, the capital of the islands! 
The island is almost entirely given up to sugar 
plantations, in which at least 30,000 of its people 
are engaged. 

The Island of Neehau contains 97 square 
miles, and has a population of only 14 families. 
Ownership of it is claimed by an Englishman, 
who asserts that he bought it from the former 



18 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

king of the islands. It is given entirely to graz- 
ing, and from 30,000 to 40,000 sheep are raised 
on it annnally. The Island of Keani contains 
590 square miles, and has a population of I5,3 62 - 
There is a party of German colonists, who claim 
that they own the island, which is entirely given 
up to sugar plantations. 

^The island that is probably best known 
throughout the world is Molokai. It comprises 
270 square miles, and has a population of 2,307. 
It is a leper settlement, and over 1,200 of the 
residents are sufferers from leprosy. The island 
came into great notoriety several years ago 
through the death of the celebrated Father 
Damien, who, it will be remembered, contracted 
the dread disease while ministering to the spirit- 
ual and temporal needs of those who are afflicted 
with it. At the island of Maui, which contains 
760 square miles, and which has a population of 
17,726, are the immense sugar plantations of 
Claus Spreckles, the California sugar king. The 
island of Lauai contains 105 people, who maim 
tain themselves by grazing. Another large 
island is Hawaii, which consists of 4,210 square 
miles, and which has a population of 32,285. 

The chief product of the islands is sugar. 
Sugar forms 99 per cent, of the exports of the 
islands. In 1897 the sugar sent out from the 
islands amounted to the enormous total of 502,- 



OUE NEW POSSESSIONS. 



19 



000,000 pounds. The population of the islands 
according to the most accurate statistics, is about 
109,000. 

Coffee Culture ia Hawaii. 

There is some coffee land on all the islands, 
but Hawaii is the only one of the group that has 
land for public settlement. This is true of other 
industries than coffee The principal coffee dis- 
tricts m the island of Hawaii are : Kona, 48,000 
acres ; Puna, 67,000 acres, and Hilo, 195,000 
acres ; but a comparatively small percentage of 
this acreage is planted with coffee or suitable to 
its cultivation. 

In all three of these districts, and especially in 
Hilo, tlie government is surveying and opening 
land for settlement as rapidly as possible. And 
as fast as the land is put on the market it is being; 
taken up ; for the government sells it for from $, 
to $10 per acre, while the boom at the town of 
HUo— Hawaii— enables speculators to get $50 
s6o and even $100 per acre for the same land' 
while about $30 to £40 per acre must be reckoned 
on additionally for clearing the jungle. 

f^JTHE ISLAND OF GUAM. 
HE island of Guam, the largest of the Mari- 
anne or Ladrone Archipelago, was ceded 
by Spain to the United States by Article 
2 of the Treaty of Peace, concluded at Paris 



20 OUR NEW POSSESSIONS. 

December 10, 1898. It lies in a direct line from 
San Francisco to the southern part of the Philip- 
pines, and is 5,200 miles from San Francisco, and 
900 miles from Manila. It is about 32 miles long 
and 100 miles in circumference, and has a popu- 
lation of about 9,000, of whom about 6,000 are m 
Agana, the capital. The inhabitants are mostly 
immigrants or descendants of immigrants from 
the Philippines, the original race of the Ladrone 
Islands being extinct. The prevailing language 
is Spanish. Nine-tenths of the islanders can read 
and write. The island is thickly wooded, well 
watered and fertile, and possesses an excellent 
harbor. 






Celebrated Political Leaders. 



WILLIAM C. WHITNEY. 

jV/TR. WHITNEY must be considered one of the 
foremost leaders of the Democratic party, 
A gentleman of fine culture, large wealth, patriotic 
spirit, and possessed of great political shrewdness, 
which is universally admitted, he has long been 
eminent among the celebrities whose names are 
associated with our national affairs. 

He was born in Conway, Mass., July 15, 1841. 
The circumstances of his family were such that he 
could receive a thorough preliminary education, 
and, being thus well fitted for College, he entered 
Yale, graduated in 1863, and subsequently studied 
law at Harvard, leaving the latter institution in 
1805. 

In the city of New York he began at once the 
practice of his profession, and soon won distinction. 
Possessed of a legal mind, vast social inliuence, 
and being withal a hard worker, he immediately 
stepped into the front ranks of the legal profession. 

This did not prevent him from turning his at- 
tention to politics, and in 1871 he joined the 
Young Men's Democratic Club, soon acquiring a 
prominence almost beyond his years, by the active 

21 



22 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

part lie took in the famous fight against the Tweed 



ring. 



Being a man possessed of liberal culture, and 
interested in all matters of education, he was made 
inspector of public schools in 1872. This office 
would scarcely satisfy the ambition of such a man 
as Mr. Whitney, and he naturally looked for 
greater distinction in the political arena. He ran 
as a candidate for district attorney under the 
auspices of the reformed Democracy and was de- 
feated. This, however, only increased his deter- 
mination to succeed, and we soon find him appear- 
ing again as a candidate for office. 

Tie was active in the campaign of 1875, and 
during this year was appointed Corporation Coun- 
sel in New York. It has been said with truth 
that Mr. Whitney, during his term of office, saved 
New York City millions of dollars by his wise 
opposition to various claims brought by the politi- 
cal sharks, who attempted to make raids upon the 

city treasury. 

With the election of Mr. Cleveland to the Presi- 
dency, Mr. Whitney received a sudden elevation 
by being selected as one of the members of the 
Cabinet. He was made Secretary of the Navy, 
and such vigor, discrimination, energy and enter- 
prise did he put into his office that he attracted 
favorable comment throughout the country from 
all political parties. To him is due, to a large 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



23 



extent, the creation of an American Navy. By 
his tact and ability, by his watchfulness over the 
public treasury, and by the administration of his 
office with the same efficiency and economy that 
he would have given to his own private concerns, 
he set up a standard in the public service which 
has been pointed to with pride. 

Having returned to the practice of his profes- 
sion, he has not ceased to exhibit great interest in 
public affairs, and it may justly be said that there 
is no position in the gift of his party which they 
would not be willing to confer upon him if only 
his acceptance could be gained. 

He is a shining example of those noble qualities 
which, in alliance with great wealth, make for the 
welfare of the nation. 



JOHN SHERMAN. 

QUR Civil War and the stirring times that fol- 
lowed it have developed some statesmen of 
distinguished ability, who will long be remembered 
and honored for the invaluable services they have 
rendered to the nation. There is always a large 
class of people prating about the "good old times," 
telling how superior the early statesmen were to 
those of more recent date, glorifying the founders 
of the Republic, and implying that with their 



24 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

death a large part of our national capacity for 
public affairs went out of existence, never to return. 
It is well to be patient with those who live in 
the shadow of bygone days, although we may be 
compelled to pity their simplicity. They show 
very little knowledge of current history, if they 
imagine that all the virtue and all the statesman- 
I ship belong to a past generation. With all due 

respect to the ability of that great class of heroes 
and patriots whose deeds have given lustre to our 
early American history, it must yet be remembered 
that there are giants in these days, and that the 
next generation will outline their figures in grand 
proportions, as we do those of former times. 

The name of John Sherman has been closely 
associated with our national affairs for more than 
thirty years. During this long period few men 
have wrought more valiantly, have stood out more 
prominently in the eye of the nation, have marked 
their career with greater achievements or have 
committed fewer mistakes. An eminently wise 
and safe man he has been. Always strong in his 
party convictions, he has yet been something more 
than a politician. He was originally freighted 
with material sufficient to enable him to fill every 
position he has occupied, so that it has never been 
said of him that he was unequal to the occasion. 
From early manhood he has given to the public 
an impression of massive strength, great intellec- 



CELEBEATED POLITICAL LEADEKS. 



25 



tual insight, close familiarity with public affairs, 
unswerving integrity, and an ability, especially in 
the matter of finances, second to that of no other 
man in the nation. To write Mr. Sherman's his- 
tory is to write his eulogy. 

He was born in Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1823. 
"When he was but six years old his father died, 
leaving a large family in reduced circumstances, 
and he was subsequently adopted by a relative 
living at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. At the age of twelve 
a sister took charge of him and put him in a 
school at Lancaster, where he acquired an educa- 
tion. 

He studied law with his brother, C. T. Sher- 
man, at Mansfield, where he afterward practiced 
for ten years, and where he was married, in 1848, 
to a daughter of James Stewart. He was looked 
upon as a rising man, and gained a distinction 
which was not confined to the limits of his pro- 
fession. His neighbors and friends believed that 
he possessed unusual qualifications for public life. 
In 1855 he was elected to the 34th Congress in 
the interest of the Free Soil party, and was re- 
elected to the 35th and 3Gth Congresses. He 
became a power on the floor and in committees, 
and was recognized as the foremost man in the 
House, particularly in matters a fire 'ting finance. 
lie was again elected to Congress in 1860, but in 
the following year was chosen to the United States 



26 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

Senate, where he at once became a leader. After 
the close of the Civil War he and Thaddeus Stevens 
prepared the bill for the reconstruction of the 
Southern States, which was passed by Congress in 
the winter of 1866-67. 

In March, 1877, Senator Sherman was appointed 
by President Hayes, Secretary of the Treasury, 
a position which he retained until the close of Mr. 
Hayes' administration, in 1881, when he re-entered 
the Senate, of which he has been a member ever 
since, having discharged his duties with such fidel- 
ity and efficiency as to insure his continual re-elec- 
tion. Few men have ever had such confidence 
placed in them, and few have ever done so little to 
disappoint it. 

Having made the subjects of Finance and 
Eevenue a special study, he was looked upon as 
eminently fitted for his position in the Cabinet, 
and when he returned to the Senate and there 
found grave problems confronting the country, he 
addressed himself earnestly to the task of solving 
them and putting the finances of the nation upon 
a sound basis. It was due to his management, 
while at the head of the Treasury, that the 
resumption of specie payments was effected in 
1879, without disturbance to the financial or com- 
mercial interests of the country. Naturally he 
has been brought into close relations with capital, 
with banks and bankers, with moneyed men of 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 27 

every description, who hare placed great reliance 

on his judgment and advice. 

^ He was a prominent candidate for the Repub- 
lican presidential nomination in 1880, and again 
in 1888, but if this was ever seriously his goal of 
ambition, he stopped short of gaining the prize. 
Lacking, probably, in some of those magnetic 
qualities which belong to a great popular leader, 
he has never been able to command a following 
large enough to place him at the head of his party 
in a presidential campaign. His intellect is cold 
and keen, his manner is dignified and somewhat 
reserved; he means business, and that only, so 
constantly, that he has never drawn around him 
a sufficient number of influential men who were 
willing to make him their idol and stake evei^ - 
thing upon his advancement. 

Mr. Sherman would not be selected as a shining 
example of the brilliant statesman. He is not 
possessed of that peculiar magnetism by which 
many other prominent men in the nation have 
been distinguished, but he is a fine type of those 
substantial, useful qualities by which the best 
results are always brought about. He has never 
aimed to startle the public by dash and enthusiasm. 
His mind is judicial, and as a jurist he would be 
preeminent. 

His ripe age, calm judgment, and devotion to 
his constituents on the one hand, and to his own 



28 CELEBEATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

political faith on the other, have drawn to him 
universal respect. His life is one that is well 
rounded and complete. Especially has he shown 
himself familiar with our national finances, upon 
which he has long been an authority. 

That his service in Washington has been as use- 
ful as it has been protracted, will be denied by no 
one. He was, until 1893, chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Foreign Relations, and a member of the 
Committee on Finance, the Committee on Organi- 
zation, Conduct and Expenditures of the Execu- 
tive Departments, the Select Committee on the 
Quadro-Centennial and the Committee on Rules. 

In person Mr. Sherman is very tall and some- 
what spare. Fie has a nervous, energetic tempera- 
ment, and is capable of great endurance and of a 
vast amount of work. Having risen from the 
poverty of boyhood to the commanding heights of 
personal power and influence, he affords a fine 
illustration of the ample success within the grasp 
of every young American possessed of ability, 
industry and laudable ambition. He has left his 
imprint upon the recent history of our country, 
which cannot be written without frequent refer- 
ence to the important measures conceived and fos- 
tered by his wise and eminent statesmanship. 

In a ripe old age, he can look back with no or- 
dinary satisfaction upon his long and successful 
career. 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 29 

When the question of the independence of Cuba 
was agitating the country, Mr. Sherman was a 
member of the Senate. One day he rose in his 
seat and made a thrilling speech, in which he went 
so far as to say that if the reports of outrages in- 
flicted by General "Weyler's troops upon inoffensive 
Cubans were true, the United States would be 
justified in sending an army to Cuba that would 
sweep the Spaniards into the sea, This bold, 
emphatic declaration was received with spontane- 
ous applause. It indicated the feeling of the 
Senate, and prepared the way for the action that 
finally resulted in our war with Spain after the 
destruction of the battleship Maine. 

When President McKinley made up his Cabinet 
Mr. Sherman became Secretary of State. He soon 
resigned the position, however, on account of the 
infirmities of age. 

DAVID B. HILL. 

A MONG the distinguished leaders of the Demo- 
cratic party no one is more prominent than 
Senator Hill. A man of intellectual force, ener- 
getic and aggressive nature, sound judgment on 
party issues, magnetic and eloquent as a speaker, 
having the ability to command and control men, 
experienced in public affairs, and having risen from 
comparatively humble life, lie combines in a sin- 
gular degree nearly all the elements which render 






30 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

a statesman popular and draw to him the con- 
fidence of the people. 

Mr. Hill was born in Havana, Chemung Co. 9 
N. Y., August 29th, 1843. His mind in early life 
inclined to the study of law, and we therefore find 
that his first employment was in a lawyer's office 
in his native village. He had obtained a good 
common-school education, and shown himself to be 
a thorough scholar, diligent at his books, and SGine- 
what shy of social life, fearing that it might inter- 
fere with his life purposes and pursuits. He was 
such a lad as the neighbors predicted would have a 
useful and honorable career. The old saying, "the 
boy is the father of the man " was true in his case, 
and he gave promise at this early period of one 
day holding a high position in his professira as 
well as in public life. He afterward studied law 
in Elmira, and was admitted to the bar in 1864. 

In course of time, he received the appointment 
of city attorney, and in this office drew wide atten- 
tion for the aggressive, skillful and able manner in 
which he conducted his cases. During this time 
his attention was turned to politics, for which he 
seemed to have a natural taste and adaptation. 
He was located in a community with excellent 
schools and where the people generally took a 
deep interest not only in their own local affairs, 
but in the larger questions which affected the 
nation. He was many times a delegate to the 



CELEBEATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 31 

Democratic State Conventions, and was made the 
permanent chairman of those held in 1877 and 

1881. 

^ He was also prominent in the Democratic Na- 
tional Conventions of 1876 and 1884, where he 
began to command attention as a leader, shaping 
to some extent the policy of his party. He was 
elected a member of the New York Legislature of 
18/0 and 1871, rendering valuable service upon 
committees and being recognized as one of the 
foremost leaders of that body. In 1882 he was 
elected Mayor of Elmira, a tribute to the con- 
fidence placed in him by his fellow-townsmen. 
During this year Grover Cleveland received the 
nomination for Governor of the State of Netf 
York, and Mr. Hill was nominated with him for 
the office of Lieutenant-Governor. The campaign 
of this year and the great success of the Demo- 
cratic party are matters of history. Mr. Hill 
threw himself heartily into the campaign, took the 
stump and by his speeches contributed largely to 
the result. 

When Mr. Cleveland resigned in 1884, having 
been elected President of the United States, Mr. 
Hill succeeded him as Governor of New York. 
In 1885 he was made the candidate for Governor 
and was elected for the full term of three years. 
His course during this time commended itself to 
his party, and he became his own successor in 1888, 



32 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADEK8. 

being re-elected over Warner Miller, who was 
made the nominee for Governor by the Republican 
party. The position and influence he had already 
gained pointed him out as a suitable candidate for 
the position of United States Senator, to which 
position he was chosen by the Legislature of New 
York, to succeed that distinguished and abb law- 
yer and statesman, Wm. M. Evarts, of whom it 
was said when he was made United States Senator, 
" What more natural disposition could be made of 
Mr. Evarts than simply to transfer him from the 
head of the New York State Bar xo the head of 
the United States Senate ? " 

By this time Mr. Hill, being a man of resolute 
convictions, heroic purposes, able to think for b'm- 
self, and to defend in a masterly way his own 
thinking, had antagonized certain elements of his 
party, who criticised his alliance with Tammany 
of New York City and endeavored to bring him 
into disrepute. There was, howev^i, a larger 
number who applauded his course of action and 
showed themselves to be his faithful friends and 
supporters. He opposed the nomination of Grover 
Cleveland for a second presidential term in 1892. 
At this time there were many who would have 
preferred that Mr. Hill should receive the nomina- 
tion, and there was good reason for believing that 
the "presidential bee" was buzzing around his 
ears. He made a trip through the Southern 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 33 

States, delivering speeches at many points, but 
tailed to command the support of his party for 
the presidential nomination on the Democratic 
ticket. 

Once in the Senate, he became the leader of a 
action opposed to Mr. Cleveland. His utterances 
in the Senate Chamber were bold, spirited and 
sometimes bitter. His v i ews and opinions, how- 
ever, were so pronounced and so well sustained 
that they carried great influence with other Sen- 
ators, and he was able to defeat several nomina- 
tions sent to the Senate by Mr. Cleveland notably 
too for the position of Judges on the Supreme 
Be>,h. No one maintained that these r.omina- 
tiOf * vere not good ones, but as they did not com- 
mend themselves to Mr. Hill, and, it was claimed, 
were made without any reference to his wishes, 
he succeeded in effecting their summary rejection.' 
In stature Mr. Hill is rather below than above the 
average height, and, although somewhat sparely 
built, he is a man of physical strength and capable 
of enduring a large amount of labor and fatigue. 
Being a bachelor and unencumbered with domestic 
cares and concerns, he can devote himself exclu- 
sively to the affairs of State. He shows an inti- 
mate acquaintance with the history of his party, 
he is far-seeing and shrewd, is a master of debate' 
a sturdy antagonist when encountered, is perfectly 
cool and self-possessed, is skillful in the use of 



34 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

invective, and upon entering the Senate immedi- 
ately assumed a commanding position. While 
looking after the interests of his native State, he 
has always been considered a strong partisan, and 
this must be accounted one of the elements which 
have given him success among those of his own 
political faith. 

It is but just to say that Mr. Hill has been 
remarkably successful in his profession as a lawyer 
and in his efforts and aspirations as a politician. 
He does not seem to writhe under defeat, but 
assuming that there is another day coming and 
that the end is not yet, he fixes his face like a 
flint and pushes on against every storm of oppo- 
sition or calumny. m This in brief is the history of 
a man who exercises great influence in the coun- 
cils of his party and is now prominent before the 
American people. 

Mr. Hill has always been a stalwart Democrat. 
In 1896 when his party endorsed the Chicago 
Platform, some of. the measures of which he con- 
sidered extremely radical and ill-timed, he secured 
the floor of the Convention and began his speech 
with the memorable utterance, " I am a Democrat, 
but not a revolutionist." This was taken as indi- 
cating his position, and this he firmly maintained 
throughout the exciting campaign that followed. 
At the expiration of his term in the Senate he 
resumed his law practice at Albany. 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



35 



CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW. 

HHHERE are Americans who do not need to be 
placed in official position, who do not need to be 

Governors, Senators or Presidents, to exert a com- 
manding influence and stand in the eye of the nation. 
They are capable of winning celebrity in more pri- 
vate walks. Some of our most distinguished citizens 
have never been placed to any considerable extent 
under political responsibility. There are those who 
appear to be naturally outside of office, if not alto- 
gether superior to it. Their worth lies entirely in 
themselves, irrespective of position or surroundings. 

^ If one were asked to name the most eminent 
citizen of our country, Chauncey Mitchell Depew 
would be mentioned as one of them. His fame 
has gone into all parts of the land, among men of 
business, politicians, leaders of thought, those who 
are especially interested in moral reform— in fact, 
among all classes of our citizens Mr. Depew is 
known for his estimable qualities, his intellectual 
ability and his genial nature. He did, indeed, at 
one time hold office, but this was many years ago 
and, while he has always been interested in poli- 
tics, and has even been suggested as the candidate 
of his party for the Presidency, he does not appear 
to have sought distinctions of this description. 






o 



6 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



Mr. Depew is a man of broad and liberal educ? 
fcion. He was born in Peekskill, N. Y., April 23, 
1834. Even in his boyhood he was a gifted de- 
claimed and gave prophecy then of his distin- 
guished career as an orator. The old saying that 
" the boy is the father to the man ' is illustrated 
in his case. He graduated from Yale College in 
1856, having taken high rank during his course, 
especially in the department of rhetoric and oratory. 
Many were the contests he had in college, and 
many were the times that he emerged from them 
with complete success. His social disposition, his 
breezy manner, his happy knack of merry-making 
and his fund of anecdote, rendered him a general 

favorite. 

In 1858 he began practicing law, considering 
that this profession furnished the widest opportu- 
nities for such abilities as he could command. His 
public career as an orator was begun in 1856 in 
the Fremont campaign. At this time he identified 
himself with the young Republican party, of which 
has since been a prominent and enthusiastic 
member. He became widely known throughout the 
eastern part of New York for his pithy and eloquent 
stump-speeches, and very soon found himself in 
favor with the older leaders of the party. His youth, 
his self-possession, his fluency, his grasp of the sub- 
jects he treated, his unbounded enthusiasm, drew 
immediate attention and marked a coining man. 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 37 

In 1861 he was sent to the Legislature of New 
York, and two years later he was elected Secretary 
of State, declining a re-election two years subse- 
quently. He found it necessary to devote his time 
somewhat exclusively to his profession, consider- 
ing that this was his legitimate calling, and to 
pursue it would prove of lasting benefit to him in 
the end. In 1866 he was chosen attorney for the 
New York and Harlem Railroad, and three years 
later, when the railroad was consolidated with the 
New York Central, he became general counsel of 
the company. He was elected second Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Central Railroad in 1882, and the fol- 
lowing year President of the "Vanderbilt roads." 

In person Mr. Depew is above the medium 
height, has prominent features and a clear, pene- 
trating voice that can be heard by the largest 
audiences. 

Mr. Depew was elected to the United States 
Senate to represent the great Empire State, and 
took Ins seat in December, 1899. It was felt that 
the great State of New York would have one of 
the worthiest represi ntatives it had over had ai 
Washington. Jils ripe experience, his polished 
eloquence and genial nature combined to make 
him a conspicuous figure from the outset, lie soon 
made speeches which were worthy of his reputa- 

"• _ Mr Depew lias long been prominent in the 
councils of his party, and is a very spirited leader. 



38 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



ROBERT E. PATTISON. 

T) OBERT EMORY PATTISON, late Governor 
*" of Pennsylvania, was born at Quantico, Md., 

December 8th, 1850. His father, Robert Henry 
Pattison, a native of Maryland, was bom Jan. 
22nd, 1824 ; graduated from Dickinson College in 
1843; entered the Philadelphia Conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in 1846; filled a 
number of prominent appointments in Philadelphia 
and elsewhere ; was a Presiding Elder from 1869 
to 1872; received the degree of D. D., from Dick- 
inson in 1867 ; was for several years chaplain of 
the Grand Lodge of Masons in Pennsylvania ; and 
at his death in Philadelphia, February 14, 1875, 
was one of the ablest and most popular ministers 
of his church. His mother, Catherine P. Woolford, 
was a grand-daughter of Col. Thomas Woolford, 
of the Maryland line in the Revolution. When 
Robert was six years old, his father was appointed 
to Asbury church, Philadelphia. He obtained his 
education in the public schools of that city, and 
was graduated from the Central High School, de- 
livering the valedictory address. 

In 1869, on the recommendation of Prof. Riche, 
of the high school, he entered the law office of 
Lewis C. Cassidy, then one of the most brilliant 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



39 



advocates of the Philadelphia bar, and was admitted 
to practice in 1872. He had good prospect of suc- 
cess as a lawyer, but his career was destined to be 
political rather than legal. 

In 1877 he was named as a candidate of the 
Democratic party for Auditor-General of Pennsyl- 
vania, and on first ballot in the convention stood 
next to William P. Schell, who was nominated and 
elected. A few months later, at the suggestion of 
Mr. Cassidy, he was the Democratic nominee for 
City Controller of Philadelphia. This depart- 
ment, like others in the city government at the 
time, was badly managed, and if he should be 
elected he would have a task of reform before him 
that needed a good deal of experience and a very 
level head. The people were ripe for revolt, ana 
he was elected Controller by a majority of 2,000, 
although the Republican candidates on the State 
ticket carried the city by 6,000 majority. 

Mr. Pattison entered upon his duties January 1, 
1878, and recognizing the fact that he had been 
elected to reform the office and its methods, he set 
about his work with a determination to honestly 
administer its affairs. He found the credit of the 
city impaired; its paper at a discount in the money 
market — but by adopting a funding plan, order 
was brought out of chaos; and such was the 
appreciation of his services by flic people that at 
the expiration of his three-years term, he was re- 



40 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS* 

elected by a majority of 13,593 over his contest- 
ant, one of the most esteemed citizens and success- 
ful merchants of Philadelphia. This was not a 
triumph of party, but one due to the personal and 
exceptional ability with which Mr. Pattison had 
discharged his office, for it was at a time when the 
Republican candidate for President carried the 
city by over 20,000 majority. 

This popularity placed him in 1882 as an avail- 
able candidate for Governor. After a close and 
vigorous contest in the State convention he was 
nominated, and in November of that year was 
elected by a plurality of 40,202 over his Republi- 
can opponent, Gen. Jas. A. Beaver, although ^ for 
thirty years previously his party had been m a 
minority in the State. This result was due more 
to his vigorous and independent personality and 
to his successful administration of the finan- 
cial affairs of the metropolis, than to the dissen- 
sions in the Republican ranks at that particular 

time. 

During his administration, the finances of the 
State were economically managed and the State 
debt steadily reduced. Although hampered at every 
step by the legislative branch of the government, 
which was in the control of his political opponents, 
he was patient and persevering, setting his face 
against extravagant appropriations, and holding 
the corporations of the State to a strict obedience 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 41 

to the Constitution and the laws. His success was 
a phenomenal one. 

Under the Constitution of Pennsylvania the 
Governor cannot succeed himself, so that at the 
end of his term, January 18, 1887, he retired from 
office. A leading opposition newspaper at that time 
gave this testimony ■ 

" Gov. Pattison retires from office with the en- 
comiums of political friends and foes, with the 'well 
dones ' of the people ringing in his ears to cheer 
his heart. He has been a good Governor. He 
made that sort of a ruler that the people like. He 
was bold and fearless, and he was not afraid to do 
and say what he thought was right Even his 
bitterest enemies in his own party were forced to 
admire the man who rejected unwise counsel and 
followed it to the line. The people admire a man 
of brains, and they are quick to recognize an honest 
official. Gov. Pattison fills the measure of these 
qualifications. He will be heard from in the 
future." 

In the light of subsequent events the last sen- 
tence seems almost prophetic. Upon returning to 
private life he resumed the practice o*' law in 
Philadelphia. Three months later he was elected 
President of the Chestnut Street National Bank. 
He had previously declined the Auditorship of the 
Treasury tendered him by President Cleveland, 
but afterwards accepted an appointment as Pacific 



CZLZZ7 _Ii: POLITICAL LEASEES. 

Railr: : 1 Commissioner, and was elected President 
:: that :ommission. Hi- report on the relations 
of that " jt| >ration to the government :* me of the 
ablest and most valuable papers in the financial 

tory f the 1 an 1-ai led re ads and on the exist!: 

tug :: theii lebt to the government On the 
wnpletion >f his work as hi id rfthe Commission 
he returned : Philadelphia and levoted hi: :-.tten- 
: the : auk. 

He was lav delegate * "---- ' neral Conference 
;: the lethodist Episcopal church in 1£ i 
1888; in 189( i temal lelegafe fco the General 

nference of the M. E. Church South and 
1891, a dC be tc the Methodist GScnmenical 
Council, held in Washington, D. C. In 1884 
Dickinson College coiiferred upon him the legree 
of Doctoi :C Laws. In 1896, owing to the err 
>f the Republican - arty, the Democracy seized the 
golden -" y and again nommated Mr. I 

the Ex Lve office. His campaign was 
a vigorous and aggressive :ae. and his speech 

_ - — 

wei - nr iy px citations of the real i sc 
5 the ] 
For a second time he carried Pennsylvania on a 
platform of reform, being ele by a majority of 

1C " although the B an Candida::- for 

Liei v r and S tary of Internal 

A ■ re el - 1 by m v 2 

H _ him a position of national imj 



'--i— z.. : l:t: l iz.-_ii:- - ; 

He was in i-ignrated Januar 20. 1S91 for 

---"- -~ — ■ - -- r ~ t _- 

Mr. Partisan er the perf : mfidenee t 

only of h at of the communr 

general nafl his nomination for 

Presidfr: :asni. 

THOMAS B. REED 
T-- ~'JTy of onr counm shows that in every 

forward who were equal : -lie occasion. An 
traordinarr demand has al s developed ex- 
iraordinary charae: and has been fraitml ii, 
remarkable achievement J 
the Revolution down to the present time, st* 
men who would compare favorab. with :iiose of 
anv er nation, have appeared upon the scene 
of action. Those who ^Wished our national 
policy and guided the ong republic through 

tare- re not more conspicuous than those 
who, in la: Iiaped the events whos 

-cord is written upon the enduring pages of his 
**v « that our nation ha< 

been gifted with wise and able :e*men, nor d 
we need to go far back to discover their names. 

Stormy times always brk_ and men to the 
fiont the occasion affording opportunity for lead 
of intellectual force, he: xjurr . nd glowing 
patriotism. I: has been no ligL >k to guide 



44 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

American affairs during the period immediately 
following our great Civil War. The conflict of 
opinions has raged under the dome of the Capitol. 
This was only to be expected, for a nation like 
ours, covering so vast an extent of territory, the 
life of which is composed of interests so varied, 
and where there is always a strong local feeling, 
must find that there will be differences of opinion 
respecting many questions of national policy. 

Few men have lately occupied more public 
attention than Thomas Brackett Reed, a man con- 
structed on a broad plan, with abundance of mate- 
rial put into his original composition, and physi- 
cally and intellectually the peer of the most con- 
spicuous Americans who have gone before him. 
As a party leader, he has shown pre-eminent 
abilities, while at the same time he possesses the 
elements of personal popularity to a remarkable 
degree. He appears to have gained his full growth, 
is not confined within narrow limits, and is so 
ample in thought, energy and deed, that he must 
be considered a grand outgrowth of American 

institutions. 

Mr. Reed was born in Maine, October 18th, 
1839. After the usual common-school education, 
which the most of American boys are fortunate in 
being able to obtain, he continued his studies and 
graduated at Bowdoin College in 1860. The choice 
of his profession was that of law, and he imme- 



CELEBKATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



45 



diately began its study after leaving College. For 
a short time he was diverted from the practice of 
his profession, becoming acting paymaster in the 
Navy in 1864. Here, however, he remained only 
a year, and then resumed his profession. 

His comprehensive knowledge of current politics 
and his sound Republican principles made him 
widely known in his own locality, and he was 
honored with an election to the lower branch of 
the Maine Legislature in 1868. At the next elec- 
tion he was made Senator and was transferred to 
the upper house. For two years he was attorney- 
general of the State, and city solicitor for Portland 
for a term of four years. During all this time his 
reputation was extending, his marked qualities 
were showing themselves, his strong individuality 
was attracting observation, and it became evident 
that he had abundant qualifications for a sphere of 
the widest political action. 

The next step in his career was his election to 
Congress, in 1876. He has since been continuously 
re-elected, a fact in itself affording sufficient evi- 
dence of his great popularity and the unbounded 
confidence reposed in him by his constituents. It 
was soon admitted in Washington that a man of 
extraordinary parts had taken his seat in the 
House of Representatives. He did not commit 
the error of expressing his views on every little 
subject, on every little occasion, but when the? 



46 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADEES. 

turning-points came and matters of weighty import 
were to be decided, Mr. Eeed stood in the centre 
of the arena, a valiant champion of his party faith, 
and an opponent with whom few dared to measure 
arms. 

Mr. Eeed showed an intricate knowledge of par- 
liamentary law and usages, having made the con- 
duct of public business a special study. He was 
quick to detect any blunder or mistake in the 
deliberations and modes of procedure on the floor 
of the House. Naturally he became the leader of 
his party, having a clear and comprehensive con- 
ception of its principles, and being able to express 
his views with such force and eloquence as to 
command attention. He assumed his position at 
the front without effort, without courting favor, 
purely upon his own merits as a statesman of 
broad views, generous impulses, magnetic force and 
calm judgment. 

He became the central figure of the Republican 
party, and in the Fi%-nrst Congress was elected 
Speaker of the House. ' It soon became evident 
that a man of stern will and remarkable executive 
ability was in the chair. Business was to go on. 
The country expected legislation and was to have 
it. The subterfuges and delays for defeating mea- 
sures of public importance were to be branded as 
infamous. The old-time usages and rules which 
blocked legislative machinery were to be dragged 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 47 

forth and slain, as Samuel hewed Agag in nieces 
before the Lord in Gilgal. 

Of course, there was a stir among the dry bones. 
It had never been so seen in Washington before. 
A new man was at the helm, a new life and vigor 
were infused into the deliberations and actions of 
the House of Representatives. Men who had 
resorted to the most unscrupulous methods for 
defeating projects which they did. not favor, were 
respectfully but firmly told to take a back seat. 
Rules were adopted for "counting a quorum/' and 
permitting public business to be transacted, a very 
wise and indispensable proceeding, as would be 
said by any man of common sense. It was justly 
concluded that where something was expected to 
be done, it was the height of idiocy and obstinacy 
to allow a small minority to paralyze all action, 
resulting in the doin°; of nothing 

As might have been expected, a storm of criti- 
cism was awakened. In the midst of it all Mr. 
Reed stood like a rock, conscious that he was right 
and that the position he had taken was a public 
necessity. Americans do not like a weak man. 
They had found a strong one, and the entire ap- 
probation of his party sustained Mr. Reed and 
applauded his administration. He was unmoved 
by assaults, bitter criticisms, storms of vitupera- 
tion. His enemies gave him the title of " Czar," 
berated what they called his tyranny, jet inwardly 



48 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADEES. 

respected him and bowed before the majesty of his 

will. 

Time has justified fully the position Mr. Reed 
assumed, and the very rules which the minority 
opposed they were compelled to adopt when they 
became the majority. Mr. Reed's views upon 
great public questions are so well known as to 
require little reference here. Suffice it to say, he 
is a thorough American, believes in a strong for- 
eign policy, is an advocate of reasonable protec- 
tion to American industries, and stands with his 
windows open to the light, ready for any and all 
measures that will promote the widest public 

welfare. 

In personal characteristics and force of character 
Mr. Reed is a typical American and seems abun- 
dantly able to bear the responsibilities which have 
fallen to his lot as a public man. 

In 1899 Mr. Reed resigned the Speakership of 

the House of Representatives and also his position 

as Congressman, his object being to take up the 

practice of law in the city of New York. As a 

public man he had been too honest to amass 

wealth, and he now considered it his duty to devote 

himself to his profession and make provision for 

advancing years. His constituents accepted his 

resignation with many expressions of regret. It 

was felt that a majestic figure was passing from 

public life and would be greatly missed. 






CELEBKATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



49 



ROBERT T. LINCOLN. 

JJO figure in American history is more majestic 
than that of Abraham Lincoln. He was 
called to lay his hand on the helm when the ship 
of state was among the breakers and threatened 
with destruction. His sturdy common sense, his 
broad statesmanship, his unswerving patriotism 
his skill m handling men, combined to make him 
a great man for a great emergency. Such an 
emergency was the Civil War, through which 
Mr. Lincoln displayed the qualities of a great 
leader. 

The fatal bullet that resulted in his death left 
only one to bear his honored name who was 
destined to reach mature life. Several sons died 
m their early days, and Mr. Lincoln was peculiarly 
unfortunate in the loss of his children. One 
however, Robert Todd Lincoln, grew to manhood] 
a strong, muscular, well-proportioned, vigorous 
man, yet not closely resembling his father whose 
slender, yet rugged figure, towered above ordinary 
men. Looking at the faces of father and son, one 
would discover no marked resemblance between 
them. The face of the father is long, spare and 
marked by prominent features; that of the son is 
more round and full, yet is characterized by what 



50 CELEBSATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

could best be described as a combination of intelli- 
gence and dignity. 

Near the close of the Civil War, we find Eobert 
T. Lincoln a captain on the staff of General Grant. 
Thus the White House was represented on the 
battle-field, and the only son of the President of 
the United States took up arms in defense of his 
country. No stronger evidence could be furnished 
of the patriotic spirit which pervaded the high 
places of the land. Although young at this time, 
Mr. Lincoln showed the commanding qualities 
which distinguished his father, and was a faithful 
and efficient staff-officer. 

He was born at Springfield, Illinois, August 1, 
1843. Although his father had only a common- 
school education, and somewhat limited, even at 
that, he knew the value of education and resolved 
that his children should have as good advantages 
.as he could possibly furnish them. Eobert took a 
course of study at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. 
H., and at Harvard. He resolved to study law, 
and his course at Harvard was shaped with this 
end in view. Having been admitted to the bar, 
he practiced law in Chicago until 1881. Not 
merely by reason of being the son of President 
Lincoln, but by reason of his own manly qualities, 
sound judgment and ability in his profession, he 
attracted public notice and was already embarked 
upon a distinguished career. The public press 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADEES. 51 

pointed to him as one in every way worthy of a 
position in the cabinet of President Garfield, and 
there was no surprise, but rather universal gratifi- 
cation, when he received the portfolio of Secretary 
of War. This office he retained until the close of 
President Arthur's administration, when he re- 
turned to his practice of law in Chicago. 

The position of Secretary of War did not per- 
mit of any brilliant display of talents. It requir I 
strict attention to public affairs, to the details of 
the office, and to the measures relating to the War 
Department, which were from time to time enacted 
by Congress. All these duties were discharged by 
Mr. Lincoln in the most creditable manner, and he 
became one of the most conspicuous members of 
the cabinet. He was never charged with any 
visionary schemes, was sound and just in his con- 
clusions, was so conservative as to command the 
respect and confidence of all thoughtful persons, 
and left his office with an enviable national repu- 
tation. 

When President Harrison came into office in 
1889, Mr. Lincoln was strongly recommended by 
his friends as a suitable person to represent our 
country at one of the foreign courts. It required 
no urging for Mr. Harrison to confer this honor, 
and Mr. Lincoln was appointed Minister to Lug- 
land. This position be filled with distinguished 
ability during President Harrison's term of office, 



52 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

and returned to this country in 1893 when Presi- 
dent Cleveland began his second administration. 
He passed gracefully again into private life, yet 
was not forgotten by his party, who have, in 
various ways, shown him marks of the highest 
esteem and expressed a desire that he should hold 
such relations to public affairs as would enable 
him to render the services that could be expected 
of him in view of his past successes. 

Mr. Lincoln is a strong, forcible speaker, some- 
what resembling his honored father in this respect, 
exhibiting the more weighty and convincing ele- 
ments of oratory, in contrast with the brilliant 
pyrotechnics by which so many men in public life 
render themselves notorious. He is a fine exam- 
ple to the young men of our country in those 
noble qualities which go to form the best manhood. 
It is safe to say that whatever position or sphere 
he may occupy he will prove himself to be a public 
man of sterling integrity, strict honesty, safe judg- 
ment, exerting an influence which will tend to 
promote the public welfare irrespective of all party 
prejudice. Such men are the nation's treasure, 
her most enduring riches. 

The consciousness of personal integrity and well- 
merited appreciation belongs to many men who are 
not panting for public office, yet, if it is bestowed, 
they are capable of showing themselves well-fitted 
for the task. 



CELEBEATED POLITICAL LEADEE3. 



53 



WILLIAM B. ALLISON. 

rilHE career of this distinguished Senator affords 
another striking proof of the power and 
influence belonging to the individual man. Money 
talks for some men, social influence for others, 
learning and culture for others, and brains for 
others. The last-named element .of success belongs 
especially to Mr. Allison. Combined with it is his 
sterling integrity and a character that has never 
"Veen called in question. 

For a long time he has stood in the halls of the 
United States Senate, taking an active part in all 
its deliberations and debates. He is considered a 
statesman, eminently wise and safe. While it mav 
be said that he has gained large experience in 
Congress, it may also be said that he brought his 
experience with him. He was a man of°publio 
affairs, prominent and widely known, before going 
to Washington. It was but natural that, having 
gained a local celebrity, he should be transferred 
to the wider field. 

His native state is Ohio, where he was born at 
Perry, Wayne County, March 2, 1829. Like many 
others who have molded the affairs of the nation, 
he spent his early years upon a farm. While the 
pursuit of agriculture is honorable and, fortunately, 



54 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

is universally considered so. it is proverbial that 
farmers' boys rebel against the hard labor and 
monotonous life incident to a farm and seek some 
other calling. 

These sons of farmers constitute some of the 
best timber we have in the nation. Their sur- 
roundings are not generally luxurious, they are 
trained to habits of industry, they usually obtain 
at least a good common-school education, and by 
the sheer force of intellectual ability and perse- 
verance, they often rise to positions of great honor 
and usefulness. It did not take long for Mr. 
Allison to outgrow the farm. He had an ambition 
which could not be gratified by any such pursuit. 

He was educated at Allegheny College, Pa., and 
at the Western Reserve College, Ohio, after which 
he took up the study of law and practiced his pro- 
fession in Ohio until 1857. He wished to locate 
farther west, where he could be identified with a 
growing town. He removed to Dubuque, Iowa, 
where he has since made his home. Being by 
nature a citizen of public spirit, interested in all 
that concerned the town of his adoption, he soon 
became widely known, and was not more widely 
known than he was respected. His gift of speech 
was such as to inspire confidence. Matters of 
grave responsibility were at once committed to his 
hands. Like many lawyers, he anticipated public 
life and political preferment. 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



OO 



He was sent as a delegate to the Chicago con- 
vention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for the 
presidency in I860, and in the following year 
became a member of the staff of the governor of 
Iowa. When the war broke out he was amon"* 
the first to offer his services to the government, 
being willing to let his profession suffer in order 
to help maintain the cause of the Union. He 
rendered valuable service in raising troops and 
organizing volunteer regiments for the war. Those 
were stirring times, and the exigencies brought 
into prominence many men who might otherwise 
have remained in comparative obscurity. 

In 1862, Mr. Allison was elected to the 38th 
Congress as a Republican. He served in this 
capacity with such fidelity and distinction that he 
was re-electeC to the three succeeding Congresses. 
His re-election, his neighbors were accustomed to 
remark facetiously, was chronic. He served con- 
tinuously as a member of that body from Decem- 
ber 7, 1863, until March 3, 1871. Often he was 
appointed on important committees, and being a 
willing worker, was soon known as one of the most 
industrious members of the House. 

At the same time, he kept in close touch with 
His constituents at home. Thev marked his 
achievements and were proud of his advancement 
in the estimation of the public. He wis always 
found at the post of duty, never shullled or evaded 



56 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

any question of importance, was always willing ^ 
have his opinions known, and was always able to 
give a reason for the faith that was in him. 

In 1873, he was elected by the Legislature of 
Iowa to the United States Senate to succeed James 
Harlam and since that time has been re-elected 
almost without opposition. Thus it will be seen 
that he has had one of the longest terms of ser- 
vice that has fallen to the lot of any public man. 
There are no sensational elements in his character 
He does not glare like a meteor nor astonish otherr 
by ill-considered and unexpected methods. 

Mr. Allison's character, attainments and public 
services have been such as to point to him for a 
presidential nomination. Accordingly, on several 
occasions, his name has been mentioned in the 
national Republican Conventions. While he has 
had a large following, and many prominent men 
in the Northwest and elsewhere have endorsed 
him, others have distanced him in the race. 

It is, however, a high distinction to be promi- 
nently named for a presidential nomination. 
Such an honor can never be conferred upon a 
weak, insignificant man. Mr. Allison is one who 
fully justifies the confidence of the public and 
whose elevation to the highest position in the 
nation would be fittingly bestowed. 

It is frequently the case that men of reputation 
diminish and appear to disadvantage as one gets 



CELEBEATED POLITICAL LEADEES. 



57 



near to them. They do not stand out in all the 
grand proportions pictured by our imagination. 
"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view," 
and as they are looked at from afar they are apt to 
be invested with very heroic qualities. Then, as we 
get a nearer view, the charm is dispelled, and the 
delusion and disappointment become apparent. 
Very few men gain much by a close inspection. 
We are apt to place our public men on a pedestal, 
and look up to them with a kind of awe. Upon 
a nearer approach we find that they stand on the 
ground, and perhaps are not so very far above tta 
common level. 

It has, however, been said of Mr. Allison, that 
the near view is the one most favorable. He 
bears acquaintance remarkably well, and while 
not showy or dazzling, there is much about him 
to be commended, and the service he has rendered 
as a national legislator forms the record of an 
honored page of our history. 

The personal appearance of Mr. Allison indi- 
cates strength of body and of mind. He is large 
and well formed. His face is not that of a scholar, 
but rather the man of affairs. He is a type of the 
sturdy, honest, practical man, who conveys at once 
the impression of good sense and the possession of 
a level head. In his speeches he does not circum- 
navigate his subject, but comes at it at once. He 
always speaks to the point. Having something 



58 ' CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

to say and being able to say it, others are willing 
to listen and be instructed. 

He 'has the rare faculty of saying what he means 
and clothing his thoughts in such language that 
no double interpretation can be put upon his state- 
ments. The quaint old adage of calling a spade a 
spade applies in his case. As a type of the useful 
citizen, the able legislator, the genial and hearty 
friend, the man of culture, breadth and fullness, 
Mr. Allison is conspicuous. Such men at the 
head of public affairs give stability and confidence 
to the nation. Our country has been favored 
with many of this description, and among this 
galaxy of shining ones must be placed the subject 
of this brief biography. 

Mr. Allison is a fine example of the wise and 
useful statesman. He is by nature too cool and 
self-collected to be carried away by any gust of 
mere excitement or manufactured enthusiasm. On 
all the public questions of the clay, however, his 
party know beforehand where he will be found, 
and how surely be can be relied upon to maintain 
his position and defend the measures of a Republi- 
can administration. It is not too much to say that 
he is a tower of strength, and his habit of looking 
at all things judicially and calmly commands uni- 
versal respect for his opinions and conclusions. 
He is the type of statesman Vho is needed in the 
supreme councils of our nation. 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



59 



JOHN WANAMAKER. 
rjIHE career of no business man in the United 
States has been more successful than that of 
John Wanamaker. From the poor boy to the 
foremost merchant of our time, is an amazing step. 
Others may be accounted self-made men, miracles 
we might call them of energy and achievement, 
but to no other does the term phenomenal apply 
with as much force as it does to the subject of this 
sketch. 

Not only is Mr. Wanamaker the greatest mer- 
chant in America, he is also one of our greatest 
men. By this we do not mean that he is brilliant 
from all points of view, that he is a profound 
scholar or a great orator, but in all the elements 
which go to form a true and noble manhood, a 
man successful in all his undertakings, and a pri- 
vate and public citi/xm of pre-eminent worth and 
influence, he may be considered unique. 

It has been quite customary for instructors of 
the rising generation to point to Mr. Wanamaker 
as a shining example for young men. The youn 
as well as the old learn best from object lessons. 
That Mr. Wanamaker should have been selected 
so frequently as a pattern for imitation is not sur- 
prising to those who know him best. Standing 



lg 



60 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

conspicuously as he does before the public, it is 
not to be wondered at that he should have his 
critics, perhaps even enemies. All positive char- 
acters do have them, and it is greatly to their 
credit that they do. What impresses one espe- 
cially is, that Mr. Wanamaker has so many sides 
to his character, and shows so much of genius, not 
only in one direction, but in many. It is not too 
much to say that if he had been engaged in any 
other pursuit than the mercantile, he would 
instantly have come to the front. 

The secret of all this is simply in the man him- 
self. Having the ability, it cannot help exhibit- 
ing itself under all circumstances. The man who 
is a natural-born leader is pretty sure to lead 
wherever you place him. He carries in his own 
strong will and iron arm successes beyond the 
reach of feebler men. Such an one does not need 
to have greatness thrust upon him; he is great 
already. The world always has estimated, and 
always will estimate, men by their successes. 
Judged by this inevitable standard, Mr. Wana- 
maker is a Saul among the Prophets. 

He was born in Philadelphia, July 11, 1838; 
attended a country school until he was fourteen, 
and there obtained about the only education he 
ever received. His first place was that of messen- 
ger boy with the publishing house of Troutman & 
Hayes, at the exceedingly modest salary of $1.25 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



61 



a week. He lived over four miles from the store 
and footed it morning and evening, eating at noon 
the plain lunch brought with him from home, put 
up for him by a loving mother's hands. Subse- 
quently the family lived for a time in Kosciusko 
County, Indiana, but returned to Philadelphia in 
1856, where young Wanamaker eventually ob- 
tained employment in Tower Hall, then the 
largest clothing house in that city. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, when 
he was twenty-three years old, he married Miss 
Brown, and, having obtained a very small capital, 
he went into the clothing business in partnership 
with his brother-in-law. Here the qualities of the 
man began to show themselves, and he became 
conspicuous for that business shrewdness, push, 
and perseverance, enterprise, courage, and breadth 
of views which have distinguished him ever since. 

Of course, the business prospered and grew rap- 
idly, until in time his clothing house became the 
largest in America. A second store was opened 
in the city, and afterwards several branch houses 
in other parts of the country. It is noticeable 
that from early manhood Mr. Wanamaker devoted 
himself enthusiastically to religious work, his 
activity in this respect keeping pace with that dis 
played in his business. He established a mission 
school in what was then a poor, neglected pari of 
the city, so infested with rough, criminal charac- 



62 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

ters, that it was scarcely safe for a respectable cit- 
izen to walk through its streets after nightfall. 

This mission has grown to amazing proportions. 
It was the forerunner of the great Bethany Church 
and Sunday-schools, which have attracted atten- 
tion, not merely in Philadelphia, but in all parts 
of the country. It may as well be ssiid here that 
in connection with Bethany, advantages have been 
offered to young persons in humble circumstances 
for the study of various secular branches, a knowl- 
edge of which is intended to prepare them for 
business life. Moreover, arrangements have been 
made for the founding of an institute which will 
cost from one to two million dollars, where at a 
nominal rate young persons of both sexes can 
pursue academical studies, and have ample oppor- 
tunities for manual training. This is one of Mr. 
Wanamaker's crowning achievements. 

After the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, with 
the financial management of which he was promi- 
nently connected, he opened the great general 
store in Philadelphia which continues to be one of 
the wonders of the age. It occupies an entire 
square in one direction and half this space in 
another. The building was once a large freight 
depot, and when Mr. Wanamaker conceived the 
idea of opening a store of such gigantic dimensions 
it was freely prophesied that he would fail. Not- 
withstanding all reports to the contrary, there has 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 63 

doubtless never been a time when Air. Wanamakei 
was anywhere near the point of failing. Failure 
does not seem to be in the man. 

Mr. Wanamaker's methods of conducting busi- 
ness have shown his original genius. These have 
been quite different from those long pursued, being 
especially noticeable in the liberality shown to the 
public. They are made to feel quite at home in 
the great establishment, are treated with the 
utmost courtesy, and if, after making purchases, 
these are not satisfactory, they can be returned. 
The theory is. that to treat the public liberally pays. 
Quite naturally Mr. Wanamaker became promi- 
nent as a citizen and public man. He appeared 
to have no ambition for office, but for many years 
was fully occupied with the management of his 
vast concerns. His counsel and advice were, how- 
ever, often sou-lit, and it is probable that no pre- 
ferment within the gift of his native city would 
have been denied him. 

But he was destined to hold a much higher 
position and one that would identify him with the 
affairs of the nation at large. Having many times 
declined public office, in 1889 he accepted the 
portfolio of Postmaster-General in President Har- 
rison's Cabinet, and intoduced into tho department 
the most approved business methods. ! J is efficient 
administration did much toward perfecting ci.ul 
extending the postnl service. 



64 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



iYil 



Waiiamaker has long been distinguished 
for his liberal contributions to benevolent work, 
and it is certain that more than one institution, 
endowed by his munificence, will stand as a monu- 
ment to his business capacity and liberal spirit. 

He takes the view that a considerable part of 
his vast estate should be distributed during his 
lifetime under his own care and supervision. He 
is not willing merely to part with his money when 
compelled to by grim death, after the example of 

a great many. 

In 1898 Mr. Wanamaker entered again, as one 
might say, into public life, and made telling 
speeches on the political questions of the day 
throughout Pennsylvania. He had become thor- 
oughly aroused and indignant over the usurpa- 
tions and outrages of machine politics, and set 
himself to work with all his powerful influence to 
inaugurate a reform. He surprised everybody 
with his masterly command of the situation, his 
convincing speeches, his bold assaults upon the 
enemy's lines, and at the same time his disregard 
of all attempts to cause him to accept any nomina- 
tion for office. 

Not being a man who puts his hand to the plow 
and looks back, he gave abundant evidence of the 
fact that he was in the contest to stay, was com- 
mitted to his undertaking and would pursue it to 
the end. 






CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 65 



MELVILLE W. FULLER. 

J^AWYEKS of high reputation are found in all 
parts of our country, and here, more than ?n 
almost any other profession, it is difficult to draw 
distinctions and say that one is superior to another. 
Taken as a whole, the profession of law exhibits 
keen intellectual ability and marked oratorical 
power. 

Some members of the profession have been emi- 
nent as jurists, such as Chief-Justice Marshall and 
Chief-Justice Chase. Others have been eloquent 
pleaders, like Webster and Choate. Others have 
excelled in that intellectual acuteness which is 
especially required in untangling the meshes of 
the law. 

It is true that very able jurists have been placed 
upon the bench of the Supreme Court. Yet these 
never have enjoyed a monopoly of legal talent, 
Others of equal ability might have been elevated 
to the same position, fulfilling its duties with equal 
efficiency. 

The subject of this sketch did not have a national 
reputation until he was nominated for Chief Justice 
by President Cleveland and promptly confirmed by 
the Senate. That such an honor is great is uni 
versally conceded ; it is one of the highest thai 



66 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

can be conferred. It has been said that the Supreme 
Court is peculiarly the pride and glory of our coun- 
try. Although this was said by a member of the 
Court and appears to have a touch of self-praise 
about it, nevertheless it must be admitted to be 
true. 

Here is the tribunal of last resort. Here ques- 
tions are decided which pertain even to the Consti- 
tution and government of the country. Matters of 
the gravest import are constantly before the Court, 
vast interests hinging upon their decision. Beyond 
this tribunal there is no appeal. Its word is final 
and is not to be disputed Its decisions pass into 
laws, into principles of action, and even become a 
part of our unwritten Constitution. 

History furnishes a record of many tribunals, 
some just, some unjust, some cruel, some merciful, 
some pure, and many corrupt; but in all the long 
story of civilization from ancient Egypt down 
through the Greek and Roman Empires to the 
present day, there can be found no judicial organi- 
zation more worthy of high honor and profound 
respect than the Supreme Court of the United 
States. 

Intimately interwoven as its proceedings have 
been with the national and individual life of our 
people, calmly deciding, as it has, matters of the 
gravest import, involving vast measures of wealth, 
political consequences unmeasurable in mere money, 



GELEBEATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 67 

and questions on the turn of which hung millions 
of lives, no taint of suspicion ever sullied its honor, 
the serious charge has seldom been made, even in 
the heat of sectional strife and bitterness, that its 
decision, or the decisions of its individual members, 
were guided by aught save the cold, passionless 
mandate of the law, clothed with the significance 
that each one attached to its utterance. 

It was characterized by an eminent jurist as 
" The court which interprets the living voice of the 
Constitution." " In whatever has concerned the 
national welfare, this court has," he said, " always 
stood for the conscience of the people of the United 
States." 

The character and eminence of its members 
must ever be a subject of deepest interest to all 
Americans, for it is readily conceivable that with- 
out a Marshall, a Waite, a Storey and a Chase, as 
Chief-Justices, our national and political develop- 
ment might have proceeded upon lines far differ- 
ent from the ones which it has followed. 

The position held by the Supreme Court, the 
importance of the cases brought to its judgment 
and the far-reaching effects of its decisions, require 
jurists of the most profound learning, the widest 
experience, the utmost patience and candor, and 
personal characters above reproach. That Mr. 
Fuller meets these requirements to a most eminent 
degree, is universally admitted. He was born in 






68 * CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

Augusta, Maine, Februnry 11, 1833, and twenty 
years later graduated from Bowdoin College, an 
institution which has been peculiarly favored in 
its distinguished graduates. Having studied law 
at Harvard College, Mr. Fuller entered upon the 
practice of his profession in his native city in 1855. 
His mind seems to have had a leaning toward 
journalism, and he became the editor of the Augusta 
Age, while at the same time he became prominent 
in local politics, having been made president of the 
Common Council during his editorship. In 1856 
he was elected City Attorney. But, like many 
young men born and reared in New England, he 
was seized with the Western fever, and determined 
to go West to find a wider field for his energies. 
He removed to Chicago, where, for thirty-two 
years, he conducted a highly successful law prac- 
tice, having gained immediately a wide reputation 
for legal acumen, and for honorable methods in the 
management of his cases. 

At the same time, he did not divorce himself 
from public affairs. He was a member of the 
Illinois Constitutional Convention in 1862, and of 
the Illinois House of Kepresentatives in 1863. 
A strong Democrat, he served as a delegate to all 
the national Conventions from 1864 to 1880 inclus- 
ive, and was always prominent in the councils of 
his party, where his word had the greatest influ- 
ence. His successful career naturally pointed to a 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 69 

higher position of service than he had hitherto 
occupied. Not only the men of his own party, 
but his fellow-citizens generally looked upon him 
as an able, honorable and upright man. 

When President Cleveland selected him to fill 
the vacancy on the Supreme Bench of the United 
States caused by the death of Chief-Justice Waite, 
the choice was pronounced a wise one by those who 
knew Mr. Fuller best. Those who had not known 
him were somewhat surprised at his selection, but 
subsequent events have justified the wisdom of the 
choice. He was confirmed by the Senate July 20, 
1888, and took the oath of office on the 8th of 
October following. 

^ In the social life of Washington, Mr. Fuller and 
his family are widely known, making it a point to 
entertain their friends and show attention to stran- 
gers. Their delightful hospitalities are widely 
extended and thoroughly enjoyed. A large family 
of daughters, bright and well educated, lend attrac- 
tion to the home. These have been reared, not 
after the straight-laced fashion, but, while placed 
under judicious parental restraint, they have been 
allowed such freedom as develops individuality of 
character, and, to a considerable extent, independ- 
ence of action. They think for themselves, have 
opinions of their own, and are fully equal to all 
the social functions in which they are required to 
take part. 



70 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

Mr. Fuller has received the degree of LL.D. 
from Bowdoin College, and also from the North- 
western University. This is simply the recogni- 
tion of those distinguished abilities which have 
placed him at the head of the highest judicial 
tribunal in the land. In person he is of medium 
height and build, and not at all remarkable for 
what we are in the habit of calling " presence." 
His hair is white and is worn long; his face 
smooth, with the exception of a somewhat heavy 
mustache. His features are clear cut, giving evi- 
dence of the scholar and the thinker. 

His decisions are marked by learning, profound 
insight into the merits of the case, and a simplicity 
and clearness of expression which render them 
capable of being comprehended by the average 
mind. 

HORACE BOIES. 

ON a farm near Buffalo, Erie County, New 
York, the subject of this biography was born 
in 1827. So far he had everything in his favor, 
being the son of a hard-working, honest farmer, 
and, as was supposed, destined to grow up in a 
pursuit which is honorable, healthful and affording 
the means of independence, for such are the views 
universally entertained of country life and the 
great farming community. Better, most persons 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



71 



would say, thus to be a country boy than to run 
in the streets of the city, be prematurely developed, 
and become familiar with the vices of the town. 

A sound mind in a sound body, is the first 
requisite of success in life, and if this is not the 
heritage of a farmer's boy, where else can it be 
found ? To roam the hills and fields, to breathe 
the free fresh air, to feel the touch of nature in all 
her varied moods— all this is something to be 
coveted by the lad who means to make his mark in 
the world. 

_ Horace Boies worked on the farm as assistant to 
his father in clearing the timber-land until he wai 
sixteen years old, and during this time did manj 
a hard day's work, and, to his credit let it be said, 
did it well. 

At the age of seventeen he went West, to the 
great State of Wisconsin, under the impression 
that there he would have a better chance for mak- 
ing his way, obtaining a livelihood and, perhaps 
amassing a fortune. He found employment on a 
farm, but did not long remain, for the reason that 
he was eager to obtain an education. He returned 
to his old home, took an academic course of study, 
and went into a lawyer's office. 

In 1852 he began the practice of his profession 
in Buffalo, and in a few years had established an 
excellent reputation as a criminal lawyer. Still 
his mind was turned toward the West, and he 



/ 



2 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



resolved to make another trial, with the intention 
and hope of becoming more prominent in public 
affairs than was likely to be the case if he remained 
in the city where he had begun the practice of his 
nrofession. 

He removed to Waterloo, Iowa, in 1867, and 
there practiced in partnership with H. B. Allen for 
several years. He was afterwards associated with 
C. F. Couch until that gentleman retired to become 
a district judge in 1884. Gradually his name 
became widely known, his ability attracted notice, 
and, being a staunch Democrat, he soon became 
one of the most influential managers of his party 
in the State. They honored him with the nomina- 
tion for governor in 1889, and so great was his 
popularity that he was elected. Two years later 
he was re-elected, but was subsequently defeated, 
although the excellence of his administration was 
universally admitted. 

The triumph of the Democratic party in 1889 
under his leadership was one of the unexpected 
revolutions in the State of Iowa, to which his per- 
sonal popularity and masterly qualities as a leader 
largely contributed. He led the fight against pro- 
hibition legislation and gained a complete victory. 

Mr. Boies was the choice of the Iowa and several 
other State delegations for the Presidency in the 
Democratic National Convention of 1892. For a 
number of years he has been regarded as the 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 78 

leader of his party in Iowa, a skillful politician 
and effective speaker, a wise administrator of pub- 
lic office, and every way worthy of the great con- 
fidence reposed in him by his constituents. 

THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 

"\7ERY few men in the United States have made 
^ such a record at such an age as has Theodore 
Eoosevelt. No other young man of the old New 
York families inheriting wealth and position 
has done anything to compare with him. He was 
born in New York City, October 27, 1858. He 
graduated from Harvard, and the next year was 
elected to the New York Assembly, on the Repub- 
lican ticket. Young as he was he led the minor- 
ity in 1882. He was re-elected, and, in the face 
of bitter opposition, carried through the State Civil 
Service Reform Law and other measures equally im- 
portant, securing, among other things, a great im- 
provement in the management of city affairs. He 
was chairman of the New York delegation to the 
National Republican Convention in 1884 and an 
unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of New York in 
1886. 

In 1889 he was appointed a member of the 
United States Civil Service Commission ; by his 
tact, fearless honesty and force of character, making 
Civil Service Reform something real and tangible. 
He has been advancing steadily in the literary world 



74 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



as in the political. He owned a ranch in the 
Northwest, spent a portion of his time there, and his 
works have in many instances the flavor of that 
region in them. Among his books are : " History 
of the Naval War of 1812," " Hunting Trips of a 
Ranchman," " Life of Thomas H. Benton," " Life 
of Gouverneur Morris," " Eanch Life and the Hunt- 
ing Trail," " Winning of the West," " The Wilder- 
ness Hunter," and " History of New York." He is 
a splendid young American, one whose career is be- 
ing watched with interest by a host of people and 
one who is likely to justify the regard felt for 

him. 

Under President McKinley he was made Assis- 
tant Secretary of the Navy, and resigned on the 
outbreak of our war with Spain for the purpose of 
organizing a regiment of cavalry. The regiment, 
known as the " Rough Riders," became famous at 
the battle of San Jaun and in other engagements. 
In 1898 Mr. Roosevelt was elected Governor of 
New York, and in this office displayed conspicuous 

ability. 

LYMAN J. GAGE. 

IT was while employed as night watchman in a 
Chicago lumber yard that the opportunity of 
his life came to Lyman J. Gage. He was offered 
the position of bookkeeper for the Merchants' Sav- 
ings, Loan and Trust Company, and accepting it, 
he began a career which eventually led him to the 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 75 

highest position in connection with any such finan- 
cial institution, the presidency of the First Na- 
tional Bank, of Chicago, and Secretary of the 
United States Treasury. Born in De Kuyter, 
Madison County, N. Y., June 28, 1836, Mr! 
Gage went to Chicago in the fall of 1855, very 
poor but full of energy and pluck. Accepting the 
first employment that offered, he became a man-of- 
all-work in a planing mill and lumber yard, being 
reduced to the station of night watchman in 1858, 
when the Merchants' Loan and Trust Company 
gave him a chance. 

He rose rapidly to ;the office of cashier, and in 
1868 he went to the First National Bank to oc- 
cupy a similar position. He became vice-presi- 
dent and general manager of that institution in 
1882, and was elected president in January, 1891. 
Mr. Gage was one of the promoters of the World's 
Columbian Exposition, and was one of four 
men to practically guarantee that Chicago would 
redeem its pledge to raise $10,000,000 for the Fair. 
It was his genius and tact which largely made the 
great enterprise what it was. 

He was unanimously elected president of the 
World's Fair directors, but his duties as presi- 
dent of the bank compelled him to resign. A 
high compliment was paid to Mr. Gage's" genius 
for financiering by his election to the presidency 
of the American Bankers' Association, and a hiffh- 



76 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

er compliment when Mr. McKinley selected him to 
be Secretary of the Treasury, in which he proved 
his pre-eminent ability. 

GEORGE F. HOAR. 

OTED for his legal acumen, his broad states- 
manship and his extended and diversified 
culture, Senator George F. Hoar, of Massachu- 
setts, is regarded as one of the truly great men 
connected with the Government at Washington. 
Born in Concord, Mass., August 29, 1826, he 
was graduated at Harvard in 1846, studied law 
and bega:i the practice of his profession in Wor- 
cester. He was a member of the Massachusetts 
House of Eepresentatives in 1852 and of the 
State Senate in 1857. He was elected as a Repub- 
lican to four successive Congresses, serving from 
March 4, 1869, until March 3, 1877. 

He was elected United States Senator to succeed 
George S. Boutwell, taking his seat March 5, 1877, 
and was re-elected in 1883, 1889 and 1895. Sen- 
ator Hoar was a delegate to the Republican Na- 
tional Conventions of 1876, 1880, 1884 and 1888, 
presiding over the Convention of 1880. He was 
one of the managers on the part of the House of 
Representatives of the Belknap impeachment trial 
in 1876, and was a member of the Electoral Com- 
mission in that year. From 1874 to 1880 he was 
an overseer of Harvard College, and in the latter 



CELEBKATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 77 

year was regent of the Smithsonian Institution. 
He has been president and vice-president of the 
American Antiquarian Society, trustee of the Pea- 
body Museum of Archaeology, trustee of Leicester 
Academy, and is a member of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, the American Historical Soci- 
ety, the Historic-Genealogical Society and the 
Virginia Historical Society. The degree of LL.D. 
has been conferred upon him by William and 
Mary, Amherst, Yale and Harvard Colleges. 
Senator Hoar is a typical American statesman. 

GALUSHA A. GROW. 

T) ENOWNED as a fearless and patriotic states- 
J-t man during a critical period of the country's 
history— modestly retiring at the end of that 
period, only to be taken up thirty years after 
and elected to Congress by an unprecedented ma- 
jority—such is the record of Galusha A. Grow, of 
Pennsylvania. Mr. Grow was born in Ashford 
(now Eastford), Windham county, Conn., August 
31, 1824, but when ten years old removed with 
his family to Susquehanna county. He was 
graduated at Amherst in 1844, after which he 
studied law and practiced at Towanda until 1850, 
when his health failed and he became a farmer. 
In that year he declined a unanimous nomination 
for the Legislature, but was soon after elected to Con- 
gress as a Democrat and served for twelve succes- 



78 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

sive years, although in the meantime severing his 
connection with the Democratic party on the re- 
peal of the Missouri Compromise bill. 

His period of service was distinguished by much 
important legislation. His first speech was deliv- 
ered upon the Homestead bill, a measure which he 
continued to urge at every Congress for ten years, 
when he had at last the satisfaction of signing the 
law as Speaker of the House. He served as 
Speaker from July 4, 1861, until March 4, 1863, 
when, upon retiring, he was given a unanimous 
vote of thanks, a most unusual proceeding. Mr. 
Grow was a delegate to the National Republican 
Conventions of 1864 and 1868. In 1871 he settled 
in Houston, Tex., as president of the International 
& Great Northern Railroad, but returned to 
Pennsylvania in 1875, and in 1876 declined a mis- 
sion to Russia. In 1894 he was elected Congress- 
man-at-large to succeed William Lilly, deceased, re- 
ceiving the astonishing plurality of 188,294 votes 
over his strongest opponent, was reelected and 
again received the nomination from his party in 
1900. 

ARTHUR P. GORMAN. 

|NE of the most outspoken of men, with appar- 
' ently no concealments or reserves, and with 
abilities that eminently fit him for the high po- 
sition in which his party has placed him, Senator 
Arthur P. Gorman, of Maryland, is regarded as a 



o 






CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 79 

model of candor and honesty in the upper branch 
ol Congress, where for a number of years he rep- 
resented his State as a conservative Democrat 
Senator Gorman was born in Howard county 
Maryland, March 11, 1839. He received a public 
school education, and in 1852 became a page in 
the United States Senate, where he remained until 
1866, at which time he was the Senate postmaster. 
On September 1 of that year he was appointed 
Collector of Internal Eevenue for the Fifth District 
of Maryland, which office he held until March 
1869. Three months later he was made a direc- 
tor in the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company, of 
which he became president in 1872. In November 
1869, he was elected to the Maryland Legislature 
as a Democrat, re-elected in 1871, and chosen 
Speaker of the House during the ensuing session. 
He was elected to the State Senate in 1875, and 
served four years. 

In 1880 he was chosen to represent the State in 
the United States Senate, succeeding William Pink- 
ney Whyte, and was re-elected in 1886 and 1892 
In 1899 he retired from the Senate, but continued 
to take an active interest in the affairs of his party 
In the Senate Mr. Gorman wielded a powerful in- 
fluence. He was eloquent and forcible in debate 
and Ins remarks always received the closest atten- 
tion. When a complicated or momentous question 
was under d 1 scussion, it was usually the speech of 



80 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

Senator Gorman that cleared the atmosphere like a 
thunder shower at the close of a sultry day, point- 
ing the way to a solution of the problem. 

SHELBY M. CULLOM. 

AVERY shrewd politician is Shelby M. Cul- 
lom. He was born in Wayne county, 
Kentucky, November 22, 1829. His family 
moved to Illinois when he was but a mere child, 
and he grew up among the pioneers. He worked 
on the farm in summer and attended the district 
school in winter. Subsequently, as has been the 
experience of so many of the strong men of the coun- 
try, he taught the district school himself, and after- 
ward entered the office of a law firm at Springfield, 
111., and, it so chanced, used the very books that 
were used by Abraham Lincoln when he studied 
law. Mr. Cullom rapidly acquired prominence 
after being admitted to practice. He was elected 
city attorney at Springfield, and in 1856 was elec- 
ted to the Legislature and was voted for by the 
Fillmore adherents as Speaker of the House. 

In 1862 he had become a man of prominence in 
Illinois and was appointed by President Lincoln 
on the commission, with George Boutwell, of Mas- 
sachusetts, and Charles A. Dana, to oppose impor- 
tant claims against the Government, arising from 
the accounts with quartermasters and others dating 
from the Civil War. In 1864 he was elected to 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 81 

Congress as a Kepublican from a Democratic district. 
He remained in the House for years, and in 1872 
returned to the Illinois House of Representatives, 
was elected Speaker, and in 1874 served another 
term in the Legislature. 

In 1876 he was elected Governor of Illinois and 
was reelected in 1880, serving in that capacity 
until 1883, when he resigned to take his seat in the 
united States Senate, made vacant by the death of 
the Hon. David Davis. He was reelected and has 
not yet completed his current term of service. As a 
political organizer Senator Cullom has few supe- 
riors, and as an experienced lawmaker his rank 
is among the highest. 

JOSEPH B. FORAKER. 
A STRIKING figure anywhere would be the 
x brilliant and aggressive ex-Governor of Ohio, 
but especially attractive of attention is he as the 
leader of the younger element of the Republican 
party in Ohio. He was born near Rainsborough, 
in the State named, July 5, 1846, and worked on 
a farm in his boyhood. When sixteen years old 
he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth Ohio Regiment 
and served in the Army of the Cumberland until 
the end of the war. He was made sergeant in 
1862. After the war lie spent two years at Wes- 
leyan University and later entered Cornell 
where he graduated in 1869. He was admitted 



82 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

to the Bar the same year and practiced in Cin- 
cinnati. In 1879 he was elected Judge of the 
Superior Court in Cincinnati, subsequently resign- 
ing the office because of ill-health. 

Meantime he had attained popularity with his 
party as a brilliant and capable leader and became 
the Republican candidate for Governor in 1883, 
making a splendid canvass though not a successful 
one. In 1885 he was again a candidate and was 
this time elected. In 1887 he was again elected 
and became decidedly the head of the most vigor- 
ous and aggressive element of his party in Ohio. 
In 1889 he was defeated by James E. Campbell, the 
Democratic candidate, but remained a potent 
force in the councils of his party. In 1897 he was 
made United States Senator from Ohio, and im- 
mediately became one of the most prominent 
members of the upper branch of Congress. 

GEORGE G VEST. 

A NATURAL orator, a man of intense feeling, 
generous impulses and marked ability, George 
G. Vest, United States Senator from Missouri, has 
become well known, not alone in the State he rep- 
resents, but throughout the country. He has 
been a conspicuous Democratic figure in the Sen- 
ate for years. He was born in Frankfort, Ky., 
December 6, 1830. He attended the High School 
of B. B. Sayre, in Franklin, for ten years, and in 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEASEES. 83 

1846 entered Centre College, at Danville, in the 
same State, graduating in 1848. He studied law 
and removed to Georgetown, Mo, to engage in its 
practice. In 1856 he removed from Georgetown 
to Booneville. In 1861 he was elected to the 
Legislature, but soon entered the Confederate 
Army and later became a member of the Confed- 
erate Congress, in which body he served two years. 
At the close of the war he resumed the practice 
of the law in Sedalia, Mo., forming a partnership 
with Judge John F. Philips. Mr. Vest from this 
date incidentally took part in the political can- 
vasses of the Democratic party, and so became 
widely and favorably known throughout the State. 
In 1877 he removed from Sedalia to Kansas City 
intending to engage in his profession there, but was 
elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat 
m place of James H. Shields, Democrat, who had 
been elected to fill the place made vacant by the 
death of Louis V. Bogy. Mr. Vest was reelected in 
188o, again m 1890 and again in 1895. In the 
benate he has served on the important standing 
committees, and has shown the possession of 
statesmanlike qualities, while his gifts as a 
speaker and his qualities of personal popularity 
have added to his strength in that body. I n his 
own State there has been no candidate opposed to 
nim on the occasion of bis renominations This 
shows the estimation in which he is held 



84 CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 

HENRY CABOT LODGE. 

THOUGH one of the youngest of the Senators 
of the United States, Henry Cabot Lodge is 
by no means the least conspicuous. He was born m 
Boston, May 12, 1850, and is a member of one of 
the oldest New England families. He graduated 
from Harvard University in 1871. Three years 
later he graduated from the Law School and in 
1875 received the degree of Ph.D. for his thesis on 
the land law of the Anglo-Saxons. The quality of 
his acquirements and his natural talent were soon 
recognized and he was appointed to the position 
of University Lecturer on American History. At 
about the same time he accepted the position of 
editor of the North American Review. 

He was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature 
in 1880 and reelected in 1881. He acquired rap- 
idly a prominence in party councils, serving tor 
two years as Chairman of the [Republican State 
Central Committee and appearing as a delegate in 
the Republican National Conventions of 1880 and 
1884 In 1884 he became a candidate for Con- 
gress' and was defeated, but was successful in 1888. 
He served in the Fiftieth, Fifty-first and Fifty-sec- 
cond Congresses and was reelected to the litty- 
third In 1893, with the expiration of the Sena- 
torial term of Henry L. Dawes, Mr. Lodge was 
elected for the term expiring in 1899, being sub- 
sequently reelected. 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 85 

Mr. Lodge has been an overseer of Harvard Uni- 
versity since 1884 and is widely known as a man 
of letters. He is the author of a number of books, 
among which are " Life and Letters of George 
Cabot," a " Short History of English Colonies in 
America," a " Life of Daniel Webster," and " Stud- 
ies in History." He is not a conspicuous partisan, 
but his voice is potent in the councils of his party. 

DAVID B. HENDERSON. 

RIPE experience and sound judgment are no 
less essential than intellectual strength and 
force of character in the man who would be a lead- 
er of men. It is a combination of all these quali- 
ties that gives David B. Henderson, of L,wa, his 
power and influence in the National House of Rep- 
resentatives. Mr. Henderson was born at Old Deer, 
Scotland, March 14, 1840. He was brought to 
the United States when six years of age, settling 
first in Illinois, but removing in 1849 to Iowa, 
where he was educated in the Public Schools and 
at the Upper Iowa University. He was reared on 
a farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when 
the Civil War breaking out, he enlisted as a pri- 
vate in the Twelfth Iowa Kegiment, in September, 
1861. He was soon after commissioned First Lieu- 
tenant, and served with his regiment until the loss 
of a leg caused him to be discharged, February 16, 
1863. In May of that year he was appointed com- 



86 



CELEBRATED POLITICAL LEADERS. 



missioiier of the Board of Enrollment of the Third 
District of Iowa, serving as such until June, 1864, 
when he re-entered the Army as Colonel of the 
Forty-sixth Iowa Regiment, and served until the 
close of hostilities. 

He was collector of Internal Revenue for the 
Third District of Iowa from November, 1865, until 
June, 1869. In the meantime he had been ad- 
mitted to the Bar, and in 1869 he became a mem- 
ber of the law firm of Shiras, Van Duzee & Hen- 
derson. He was Assistant United States District 
Attorney for about two years, resigning in 1871. 
He was elected to the Forty-eighth Congress as a 
Republican, and has since served continuously in 
that body, where he is distinctly one of its leading 
forces. In December, 1899, Mr. Henderson was 
elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
being the successor of Thomas B. Reed, who be- 
came so distinguished as the leader of his party in 
Congress. 



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POLITICAL PARTIES. 









Abolitionists. 

During the Revolution, and when the Constitu- 
tion was made, various societies were formed for 
the abolition of slavery, the first originating in 
Philadelphia, April 14, 1775, with Benjamin 
Franklin as president. A second society with the 
same purpose in view, formed in New York, Jan- 
lary 25, 1785, with John Jay as president (later 
succeeded by Alexander Hamilton). These were 
the beginnings of many throughout the States, 
their meetings, publications and petitions being 
treated respectfully until the development of cotton 
planting in the early part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury raised the price of slaves, when the struggle 
between the anti-slavery and pro-slavery interests 
began. The contest out of which the term Aboli- 
tion grew dates with William Lloyd Garrison's 
arraignment of slave-holders as criminals in 1829, 
he two years later publishing " The Liberator." 
This was afterward followed by the formation in 
Boston of the New England Anti- Slavery Society , 
for the purpose of promoting the cause of emanci- 

88 



POLITICAL PAETIES. 89 

pation, and with a similar object at Philadelphia, 
the creation of the American Anti-Slavery Society. 

The Abolitionists appeared in 1840, as a distinc- 
tive party, calling themselves the Liberty Party, 
whose advocacy finally culminated in the Emanci- 
pation Proclamation of January 1, 1863. In 
February, 1866, slavery was abolished forever from 
the territory of the United States, by act of Con- 
gress. 

The Abolition, Whig and Federal were parties 
of liberal ideas and aggressiveness ; when their 
mission was accomplished, each disappeared until 
called into life to meet a new crisis. 

American. 

The Kansas-Nebraska bill of 1853 occasioned a 
split in the Whigs in 1854, who allied with the 
Know-Notliings and became the American Party. 
In 1860 it took the place of the Whigs in the 
South. 

In convention at Philadelphia, September 16-17, 
1887, the name again assumed as a party politic, 
founded on " love for our country and its institu- 
tions, believing that America should be governed 
by Americans." (See Know-Nothings.) 

Anti-Federalists. 
One of the first two political parties under the 
present Constitution, the outcome of the Particu- 
larists. They were the opposers of the Constitu- 



90 POLITICAL PARTIES. 

tion of the United States, which was then spoken 
of as the Federal Constitution. 

The Anti-Federalists were unwilling to take cer- 
tain great powers from the States and give them to 
the General Government, were jealous of the power 
of Congress, too much national power, lest a mon- 
archy should be established, and were strong ad- 
herents to rights of State and local self-government. 

In 1791 withdrew against the Constitution, 
turning against financial measures of the Federals 
toward funding of State debts. In 1796 became 
the Republican Party, branching into Jeffersonian 
Republicanism, afterward becoming the Democrat 
(See Republican and Democrat.) 

Anti-Monopoly. 

Formed May 14, 1884, at Chicago, under tht 
title of The Anti-Monopoly Organization of the 
United States, demanding economical government, 
enactment and enforcement of equitable laws, in- 
cluding an Inter-state Commerce Law (a law en- 
acted in 1887), establishing Labor Bureaus, pro- 
viding Industrial Arbitration, direct vote for Sena- 
tors, graduated income tax, payment of the na- 
tional debt as it matures, and " fostering care " for 
agriculture ; and denouncing the tariff and grant- 
ing of lands to corporations. Joined issue with 
the Greenback-Labor Party under the name of the 
<'• People's Party." 



POLITICAL PAKTIES. 91 

Bloody Shirts. 

Applied to those Republicans who are continu- 
ally raising the late war issues ; appealing to war 
sentiments. The term oriednatins; from a disguise 
of the Ku-Klux-Klan, pictured by the Republicans 
as covered with negro blood. 

Oarpet-Baggers. 

Applied to Northern Republicans, who it was 
alleged came South after the war, and by the aid of 
negro votes were elected to local and State offices. 
Being so-called transient politicians, it was said they 
brought all their effects in their carpet-bags. 

Democrat, 

Anglicized, from the French word democrate, 
which finds its derivation from two Greek words, 
Demos, the "people," cratos, "government," liter- 
ally, " one who is in favor of government by the 
people." 

The party successor, in name of the Republi- 
can, descending unbrokenly from Ant I- Federalist, 
through the Jeffersonian branch of Republicanism. 
Its title of Democrat being fully assumed as a party 
name in 1812, at the second election of Madison 
as President ; in fact, as a party it lias remained 
almost intact, both in form and name, from the 
first Presidential election (1789), being aided by 
conservatism and a policy of negation. 



92 POLITICAL PABTIES. 

The adoption of the word Democrat traceable to 
the introduction, in 1793, by Citizen Genet, of 
France (imitative of the Jacobin Clubs of Paris), of 
sociable clubs, known as "Democratic Societies;" 
the first being instituted in Philadelphia, on May 

30 of that year. 

The party constructed and maintained upon 
the principle of popular government or popular 
sovereignty, with an indifference to the sub- 
ject of slavery as to whether it was voted up or 

down. 

In 1860 it lost a section on squatter sovereignty 
which took the name of National Democrats. In 
1872 it endorsed the Liberal Republicans as to the 
necessity of reform, a change demanded, lest the 
disease of one political organization infect the body 
politic, and lest in making no change of men or 
parties the country obtains no change of measures 
and no real reform. 

Dough-Faces. 

Applied in 1820, from a remark that " they 
were plastic in the hands of demagogues;" a 
reference to the action of certain Republicans, who, 
for the sake of a compromise, voted in favor of 
striking slavery out of the Missouri Bill. 

Also used as a nickname ; given to Northern 
favorers and abettors of negro slavery ; meaning a 
politician who is accessible to political influences 



POLITICAL PAETIES. 93 

and considerations. Likewise given to such North- 
ern members of Congress as manifested especial 
willingness to fall in with the views and demands 
of the South on questions involving slavery ; i. e., 
the Northerner false to the principles of free- 
dom, or the Southerner false to the principles of 
slavery. 

Federalist. 

From the French word Federaliste, derived from 
Latin foedus, foederis ; a covenant, a league. 

One of the first two political parties under the 
new Constitution (1787). It was the outcome of 
the strong government Whigs opposing every pre- 
liminary step looking to the abandonment of the 
Articles of Confederation and the adoption of 
the Federal Constitution, in which it eventually 
succeeded, thereby creating the Federal Govern- 
ment, hence its name. It was the political party 
which favored the administration of Washington 
for President. 

Through Adams' administration, the Alien and 
Sedition laws lost to the party the election of 
18 00. In 1808 it recovered with a strong minority, 
though bitterly opposing the war policy of the 
Republicans, on which, as a party, it eventually 
split, merging into the Whigs. As a party it 
disappeared with its candidate of 1816, Rufus 
King. 



94 POLITICAL PARTIES. 

Fire-Eaters. 
Applied in 1857 to strong anti-slavery politicians 
of the North. The Southern politician who 
vehemently denounced the Union also so called. 

Free-Soilers. 
Formed in 1848, from disaffected Democrats, 
advocating Congress should abolish slavery where 
it constitutionally had the power so to do (intended 
to apply to the District of Columbia), that it should 
not interfere with the slave States, but prohibit it 
in the Territories. It became the nucleus of the 
modern Republican Party, drawing largely from 
the Whigs, in 1848, who were opposed to the 
Omnibus Bill. The name of Free-Soilers came 
from the party cry of " free soil, free speech, free 

labor and freemen." 

Grangers. 

A secret society first formed in Washington, in 
1867, and known as the Patrons of Husbandry; 
the subordinate lodges were known as granges^ 
hence the party name. 

The object was co-operative among farmers, in 
purchasing supplies from first hands, thereby doing 
away with middle men ; and while declared not 
to be political, in order to serve the interest of cer- 
tain land ends, it became necessary that individ- 
uals representative of their interests should be in 
Congress, and to serve + jhis purpose the combined 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 95 

influence of the Grangers was secretly brought to 
bear in voting, so that in time a strong political 
party was in actual existence, somewhat on the 
principle of the Know-Nothings. 

G. O. P. 

Initial letters of the Grand Old Party, a desig- 
nation of the modern Republican Party. 

Greenback. 
Party favoring an unlimited issue of greenbacks 
(paper money), or an issue based upon the resources 
of the country, toward easing the rigors of a 
money panic ; they opposed the resumption of 
specie payments according to act passed in January, 
1875. In 1884 they amalgamated with the laboi 
element under the name of National Labor and 
Greenback Party, as against Democrats. Also 
called Inflationists, /Soft-Money Men, and Fiatists. 

Know-Nothings. 
Bartlett, in his Americanisms, notes : " The 
Know-Nothing Party was first formed by a person 
of some notoriety in New York, who called him- 
self <Ned Buntline' (Edward Z. C. Judson). 
Ned was once a midshipman in the United States 
Navy, but left the service, and commenced the 
business of Americanism on a large scale, by 
founding a secret political order, of so exclusive a 
character that none were to be admitted as mem- 
bers whose grandfathers were not natives of the 



96 POLITICAL PARTIES. 

country. It is a difficult matter in a country like 
the United States where free inquiry is so common 
to keep anything secret; and so Ned instructed 
his proselytes and acolytes to reply to all questions 
in respect to the movements of the new party, ' I 
don't know.' So that they were at first called 
Dont-Knows and then Know-Nothings, by outsiders, 
who knew nothing further of them than that they 
invariably replied to all questions, ' I don't know,' ! 
The platform was: 

1. Repeal of all naturalization laws. 

2. None but native Americans for office. 

3. A pure American common-school system. 

4. W ar to the hilt on Romanism. 

Ku-KTux-Klan, or K. K. K. 

X secret society of great political significance 
in the Southern Central States, formed in 1868 
for the intimidation of negro voters in order to 
defeat the Republicans. They traveled at night, 
disguised, among the negro sections, not hesitating 
at various outrages on the race ; and before their 
disbandment by Republican Congressional action 
in 1872, it is stated they had reached nearly 300,- 
000 in numbers. Their general purpose was 
similar to the White Liners of Louisiana. 

Labor. 
A general name given to labor politics; the 
divisions or factions are United Labor, Union 



POLITICAL PAETIES. 97 

Labor, Progressive Labor, and the Anti-Poverty 
Society. All divided on the interpretation of the 
term, " the land for the people," and a direct main- 
tenance and protection of the laborer. 

Loco-foco. 

A division arose in the Democratic Party (Oct. 
29, 1835) in consequence of the nomination of 
Gideon Lee as the Democratic candidate foi Con- 
gress, by the committee chosen for that purpose. 
The nomination, as customary, had to be con- 
firmed at a general meeting of Democrats, called 
for October 29, 1835, at Tammany Hall, New 
York City. Lee's friends, anticipating opposition, 
assembled in large numbers in order to support 
him. The selection of chairman was the first 
question that arose, and it tested the strength of 
the divisions. The Tammany men (friends of Mr. 
Lee) supported Mr. Varion, while the Antj Mono- 
polists did similar office for Mr. Curtis ; each side 
claimed their party as the duly elected presiding 
officer, whereupon great confusion ensued, and 
during the excitement the lights were extin- 
guished. 

The Equal Rights (Anti-Monopolists) Party, 
having witnessed similar occurrences, or bavins: 
received some intimations that such would be the 
course of their opponents, had previously provided 
themselves with Loco-foco matches and candles, 

G ' 



98 POLITICAL PARTIES. 

and the room was re-lighted in a moment. The 
meeting continued, and the Equal Rights section 
accomplished their object. 

The " Courier and Enquirer " newspaper dubbed 
the Anti- Monopolists who used the matches, with 
the name of Loco-focos. 

Mugwump. 

Imparted in the Presidential campaign of 1884 
to the Independents or Republican Seceders who 
favored the Democratic candidate for the reason 
that a change in administration was necessary, as 
twenty-four years was long enough for a party to 
be in power ; too long a life-engrafted corruption. 

The meaning of the word had no connection 
with its political application or use, being taken 
up in the nature of a by-word, It was first used 
as meaning a Seceder, by Gov. Waller, of Connecti- 
cut, and by one of the New York dailies intro- 
duced into the political literature of the time. 

Mugwump is an Indian word, occurring in 
Eliot's Indian Bible, where it is used as an equiv- 
alent of " duke," as this latter word occurs in Gen- 
esis, chapter xxxvi. 

National. 

A split from the Prohibition Party in 1896. In 
addition to Prohibition it advocates the free coin- 
age of silver, woman suffrage, and the abolition 
of all trusts and monopolies. 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 99 

National Prohibition. 

Out of the Independent Order of Good Tem- 
plars, instituted in 1851 on the Temperance ques- 
tion, emanated a faction with political tendencies, 
that favored and elected Neal Dow as Mayor of 
Portland, Me., 1853, and in 1854, as the Temper- 
ance Party elected Myron Clark as Governor of 
New York. In 1868 Illinois and Michigan had 
taken up the matter on local issues, and formed 
Temperance and Prohibition political parties. 

The first move toward a National Party in the 
interest of Temperance was in May 25, 1869, dur- 
ing a session of the Right Working Grand Lodge, 
I. 0. G. T., at Oswego, N. Y., when a meeting was 
held to " favor independent action for the promo- 
tion of the temperance cause," resulting in a call 
for a National Convention to organize a National 
Prohibition Party; the meeting was ultimately 
held at Chicago, September 1, 1869. 

The first Temperance candidate for the Presi- 
dency on a National Ticket was James Black, 
nominated in convention held at Columbus, 0., 
February 22, 1872. The platform declaration of 
principles claimed the traffic in intoxicating bever- 
ages a dishonor to Christian civilization, a political 
wrong, and suppression only effective when legal 
prohibition is both State and National. That the 
entire prohibition of the liquor traffic is declared 



18 



100 POLITICAL PARTIES. 

to be a principle good in law and feasible in prac- 
tice. 

Native American. 

The Federalists being anti-alien, the Democrats 
naturally sought alliance with aliens, as foreigners 
with the five-year naturalization limit, centering 
in New York, filled the New York division of De- 
mocracy to the exclusion of native Federalism, in 
the control of the city government, and to meet 
this condition of affairs the first attempt at a Native 
American organization was made. It began in 
1835, and with the mayoralty election of 1837 
failed, was renewed in 1844, with the vital princi- 
ple of American, and was successful in electing its 
mayor of New York, its boom being incident to the 
action of Bishop Hughes in a speech in Carroll 
Hall, 1843, in which he advocated a distinct or- 
ganization, as a party, of the Irish voters of New 
York. This was the first attempt to organize for- 
eign citizens for political purposes. The party 
advocated the extension of the naturalization laws 
to twenty-one years, which with other extreme 
measures resulted in its defeat in 1845, through 
the strong opposition of Democrats and the Irish 
and Roman Catholic elements. 

People's. 

Originated in New York in 1823, as the Demo- 
cratic supporters of Mr. Crawford and the Albany 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 101 

Regency, advocating that electors should be chosen 
by the people and not by the Legislature, proclaim- 
ing they would favor only such candidate as would 
avow himself in favor of giving the people the 
right of appointing presidential electors. (See 
Anti- Monopoly . ) 

Personal Liberty. 

Originated in New York, in 1887, as a pro-liquor 
combination, alleging sumptuary laws having no- 
where proved effectual in extirpating intemperance 
nor in reducing immorality or vice, but invariably 
stirred up ill-feeling, that under pretence of serving 
religion and morality, of aiding in the prevention 
of crime, and diminishing the causes of pauperism, 
attempts are multiplying to encroach upon the 
rights of person and property guaranteed, laws 
having been passed detrimentally affecting time- 
honored customs and individual rights and privi- 
leges. " That as a political body they use all hon- 
orable means to promote the cause of civil and re- 
ligious liberty by insisting upon the repeal of the 
obnoxious portions of the excise laws until that 
result be attained." 

Populists. 

(See Anti-Monopoly.) 

Progressive Labor. 

The radical, or socialistic, element that withdrew 
from the United Labor Party, at Syracuse, N. Y., 



102 POLITICAL PARTIES. 

August 19, 1886; their platform notes that the 
soil of every country is the social and common in- 
heritance of the people ; that labor produces all 
wealthy which includes the instruments through 
which alone the forces of nature become accessible, 
therefore all should have free access to land, and 
to the instruments of production without tribute 
to landlords and monopolists. That to the imme- 
diate relief of the working-class : eight hours a 
day's work, no child labor, no female labor in oc- 
cupations detrimental to health or morality, an 
extension of the common-school system, equal pay 
to both sexes, payment of wages weekly, first lien 
for workmen's wages, enactment of juster laws for 
liability of employer to employe, abolish contract 
system in prisons and on public works, and tene- 
ment-house manufacturing. Have thorough sani- 
tary inspection to secure health of laborers, a non- 
importation of labor, to force existing beneficial 
"abor laws, equal sex-citizenship and suffrage, repeal 
blue laws interfering with interests of labor, and 
all conspiracy tramp laws, class legislation and 
privileges ; not allow Pinkertons ; to have a public 
ownership in industries involving public franchises 
or performance of public functions ; a direct issue 
of money, not through the banks ; a special tax on 
unimproved land sufficiently high to compel its 
surrender to the community; tax incomes over 
,000 per annum graduated to be most heavy on 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 103 

monopolists ; demand home rule, and many other 
"progressive" planks of interest to the labor class. 

Prohibition. 
(See National Prohibition.) 

Republicans. 

From the French republicain, from the Latin, 
respublica, res, " an affair/' publicum, publico,, " of 
or pertaining to the people, common to all." 

The outcome of the Anti-Federalists, 1796. 
When the Bill of Rights to recognize the equality 
of all men, and their rights "to life, liberty and 
the pursuit of happiness," has been incorporated 
m and attached to the Constitution as Amend- 
ments, the Anti-Federalists amalgamated with a 
section of the Federalists, and at the suggestion of 
the party leader, Jefferson, it became known as the 
Republican Party, Jefferson promulgating this 
name, as he thought the name Anti-Federalist was 
inappropriate, the original cause of the name hav- 
ing become lost, as the party principles were more 
directly the opposers of Federal party measures. 

The name Republican suggested to Jefferson 
through his being an ardent, enthusiastic friend of 
the French Revolution and its Republican prin- 
ciples, and maintained until 1826, when as repre- 
senting the name of a political party disappeared 
into Democrat. 

As a party name Republican re-appeared in 1855, 



104 POLITICAL PARTIES. 

they interpreting its application as meaning " na- 
tionality." The Kepublicans have twice been a 
strong party politic ; the original looked upon the 
Union as a democracy, persons, not States; the 
modern Republicans contemplated the Union as a 
Republic of itself, believing in its existence as a 
nation-republic. 

In 1859, the modern adaptation was called into 
existence solely to resist the encroachments of 
slavery upon the free territory of the Union and 
the free States, that there should be an entire pro- 
hibition of the " twin relics of barbarism, polygamy 
and slavery," that white slavery must remain and 
be protected where it was. In the Republican 
platform the attempt of John Brown was de- 
nounced as "lawless and unjustifiable," denying 
the authority of Congress, of a Territorial legisla- 
ture or of any individuals to " give legal existence 
to slavery in any territory of the United States," 
affirming the principles of the Constitution of the 
United States as essential to the preservation of 
Republican institutions, and that the rights of 
the States should be held inviolate, and especially 
that " the right of each State to order and control 
its own domestic institutions according to its own 
judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance 
of power on which the perfection and endurance 
of our political fabric depends." 

In 1876, it demanded a vigorous Southern policy 



POLITICAL PAKTIES. 105 

and arraigned their opponents (Democrats) as seek- 
ing to perpetuate sectional strife. In connection 
with the name Republican as a great party name, 
there occurs a coincidence worthy of note, the 
" Eepublican Supremacy " of each party extended 
over the space of twenty-four years — 1801 to 1825, 
and 1861 to 1885. 

Tammany. 

A society, Tammany Society, otherwise called 
the Columbian Order from 1789, composed of 
New York Democrats; the order originally formed 
by William Mooney of New York, an upholsterer, 
during the administration of Washington, in 
1789, with the probable purpose of antagonism to 
the Cincinnati Society, which had an aristocratic al 
tendency. Tammany originally having in view 
the preservation of democratic institutions, from 
contamination by the adoption of any aristocratic 
principles. 

The name Tammany or St. Tammany adapted 
from the name of an Indian chief, Tammenund, 
tradition alleging " his attachment to liberty was 
greater than his love of life." The belief is, that 
the name was one of fancy in its selection, having 
no significant meaning. 




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Interesting 
Facts about all our Presidents. 



ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON. 

1789-1797. 

The 4th of March, 1789, was the time appointed 
for the Government of the United States to go into 
operation under its new organization ; but several 
weeks elapsed before quorums of both Houses of 
Congress were assembled. The city of New York 
was the place where Congress then mot. 

On the 6th of April the electoral votes were 
counted. At that time, and until 1805, each elec- 
tor voted by ballot for two persons. If a majority 
of all the votes were cast for any person, he who 
received the greatest number of votes became 
President, and he who received the next greatest 
number became Vice-President. When the votes 
were counted they were found to be for George 
Washington, of Virginia, 69 (all of the electors 
having voted for him), John Adams, of Massachu- 
setts received 34 votes, and 35 votes were cast for 
various other candidates. 

Charles Thompson, the oldest secretary of Con- 
gress, was sent to Mount Vernon to notify Wash. 
ington of his election. Washington promptly sig- 
nified his acceptance of the office, and, two days 
later, started for New York. He was desirous of 

107 



108 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

travelling as quietly and unostentatiously as possi- 
ble, but the people of the States through which he 
passed would not permit him to do so. His jour- 
ney was a constant ovation. Crowds greeted him 
at every town with the most enthusiastic demon- 
strations of affection and confidence; triumphal 




GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



arches were erected, and his way was strewn with 
dowers by young girls ; and maidens and mothers 
greeted him with songs composed in his honor. 
In consequence of these demonstrations his pro* 
gress was so much retarded that he did not reach 
New York until the latter part of April. 

Qn the 30th of April Washington appeared on 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 109 

the balcony of Federal Hall, New York, on the 
site of which the United States Treasury now 
stands, and took the oath of office in the presence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, and 
a large crowd of citizens assembled in the streets 
below. He then repaired to the Senate chamber, 
and there delivered an address to both Houses of 
Congress. The plan of the new government 
being now completed, Congress proceeded to its or- 
ganization through the departments of the judi- 
ciary, of state, of the treasury, of war, and ef 
attorney-general. 

President Washington appointed Thomas Jeffer- 
son, of Virginia, Secretary of State, Alexander Ham- 
ilton, of New York, Secretary of the Treasury, and 
General Henry Knox, of Massachusetts, Secretary 
of War. John Jay, of New York, was made Chief- 
Justice of the United States, and Edmund Ran- 
dolph, of Virginia, Attorney-General. 

Frederick A. Muhlenberg, of Pennsylvania, was 
chosen Speaker of the House ; but his election was 
not a party triumph, for parties were still in a 
state of utter confusion. Between the extreme 
Anti-Federalists, who considered the Constitution 
a long step toward a despotism, and the extreme 
Federalists, who desired a monarchy modeled on 
that of England — there were all varieties of polit- 
ical opinion. Washington, through the universal 
confidence in his integrity and good judgment, had 
the ability to hold together the conservative men 



HO FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

of all parties for a time, and prevent party contest 
upon the interpretation of Federal powers until 
the Constitution should be tested and its value de- 
monstrated to the people. 

In 1792 the second Presidential election took 
place. Washington was anxious to retire, but 
yielded to the wishes of the people, and was again 
chosen President by the unanimous vote of the 
electoral colleges of the several States. 

The electoral votes were counted in February, 
1793, and found to be for George Washington 132 
(all the electors having voted for him), for John 
Adams 77, for George Clinton 50, for Thomas 
Jefferson 4, and for Aaron Burr 1. Washington 
was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1793. 

At the close of his term of office Washington 
withdrew to his home at Mount Vernon, to enjoy 
the repose he had so well earned, and which was 
so grateful to him. His administration had been 
eminently successful. When he entered upon the 
duties of the Presidency the government was new 
and untried, and its best friends doubted its ability 
to exist long ; the finances were in confusion, and 
the country was burdened with debt ; the disputes 
with Great Britain threatened to involve the 
country in a new war ; and the authority of the 
general government was uncertain and scarcely 
recognized. When he left office the state of affairs 
was "changed. The government had been severely 
tested, and had been found equal to any demand 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. Ill 

upon it. The disputes with England had been **jv 
ranged, and the country, no longer threatened with 
war, but was free to devote its energies to its im- 
provement. Industry and commerce were growing 
rapidly. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 
4th of March, 1797— 4th of March, 1801. 

At the elections held in the fall of 1796 the 
Federalists put forward John Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts, as their candidate, while the Republicans 
or Democrats supported Thomas Jefferson, of Vir- 
ginia. The contest was very bitter, and resulted in 
the election of Mr. Adams. Mr. Jefferson, recoiv 
ing the next highest number of votes, was de 
clared Vice-President, in accordance with the law 
as it then stood. 

The electoral vote was counted in February and 
was as follows : For John Adams 71, for Thomas 
Jefferson 68, for Thomas Pinckney 59, for Aaro* 
Burr 30, and the rest scattering. 

On the 4th of March, 1797, Mr. Adams, the 
second President of the United States, was mail- 
gurated at Philadelphia, in the presence of both 
Houses of Congress, and Thomas Jefferson was in- 
augurated as Vice-President. Mr. Adams was 
dressed in a full suit of pearl-colored broadcloth, 
and wore his hair powdered. He was in the sixty- 
second year of his age, and in the full vigor of 
health and intellect. 



H2 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Mr. Adams made so changes in the cabinet 
left by President Washington, and the policy of 
his Administration corresponded throughout with 
thai of his great predecessor. He came into office 
at a time when this policy was to be subjected to 




JOHN ADAMS. 

the severest test, and was to be triumphantly vin- 
dicated by the trial. Mr. Adams began his official 
career with the declaration of his "determination 
to maintain peace and inviolate faith with all 
nations, and neutrality and impartiality with the 
belligerent powers of Europe." 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. H3 

During the summer of the year 1800 the seat of 
the general government was removed from Phila- 
delphia to the new federal city of Washington, in 
the District of Columbia. On the 22d of Novem- 
ber, the session of Congress was opened in the un- 
finished capitol of Washington. 




THOMAS JEFFEKSON. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

4th of March, 1801— 4th of March, 1809. 

The elections for President and Vice-President 
were held in the autumn of 1800. John Adams 



114 /ACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

was the Federalist candidate for the Presidency, 
and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney the candidate 
of that party for Vice-President. The Kepublican 
or Democratic party nominated Thomas Jefferson 
for the Presidency, and Colonel Aaron Burr, of 
New York, for the Vice-Presidency. The alien 
and sedition laws had rendered the Federalist party 
so unpopular that the electors chosen at the polls 
failed to make a choice, and the election was 
thrown upon the House of Representatives* ac- 
cording to the terms of the Constitution. 

The votes of the electoral college were for 
Jefferson, 73; Burr, 73; Adams, 65; Pinckney, 
64 ; and John Jay, 1. The States that cast the 
electoral votes of their colleges for Mr. Jefferson 
jid Colonel Burr were nine ; to wit, New Yorkf- 
f>ennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky 
North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and 
Georgia. Those that cast the electoral votes of 
their colleges for Mr. Adams and Mr. Pinckney 
were seven; to wit, New Hampshire, Massachu 
setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New- 
Jersey, and Delaware. Rhode Island cast one 
vote for Mr. Jay, to prevent that equality of votes 
on the Federal ticket, which, for the want of a 
like precaution, resulted on the Republican side, 
and which caused so much excitement and confu- 
sion. Mr. Jefferson and Colonel Burr having re- 
ceived an equal number of votes, there was no 
election by the colleges, as the Constitution then 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 115 

stood. It then devolved upon the House of Kep. 
resentatives, voting by States, to choose for Presi- 
dent and Vice-President between Mr. Jefferson and 
Colonel Burr. 

On the 17th of February, 1801, after thirty-six 
ballots, the House elected Thomas Jefferson Presi- 
dent, and Aaron Burr Vice-President of the United 
States, for a term of four years from and after the 
4th of March, 1801. 

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the 
United States, was inaugurated at the new capitol, 
in the city of Washington, on the 4th of March! 
1801. He was in his fifty-eighth year, and ha( 
long been regarded as one of the most illustrious 
men in America. He was the author of the Dec- 
laration of Independence, had represented the 
country as minister to France, had served in the 
cabinet of General Washington as Secretary of 
vState, and had filled the high office of Vice-Presi 
dent during the administration of Mr. Adams. 
He was the founder of the Democratic party, and 
was regarded by it with an enthusiastic devotion 
which could see no flaw in his character. By the 
Federalists he was denounced with intense bitter, 
ness as a Jacobin, and an enemy of organized gov 
ernment. He was unquestionably a believer in 
the largest freedom possible to man ; but he was 
too deeply versed in the lessons of statesmanship, 
and was too pure a patriot to entertain for a mo 
wient the levelling principles with which his ene- 



116 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

mies charged him. Under him the government of 
the republic suffered no diminution of strength, but 
his administration was a gain to the country. 

Mr. Jefferson began his administration by seek- 
ing to undo as far as possible the evil effects of 
the sedition act of 1798. A number of persons 
were in prison in consequence of sentences under 
this act at the time of his inauguration. These 
were at once pardoned by the President and re- 
leased from prison. 

At the meeting of the seventh Congress, in 
December, 1801, President Jefferson, in pursuance 
of an announcement made some time before, in- 
augurated the custom which has since prevailed 
of sending a written message to each House of 
Congress, giving his views on public affairs and 
the situation of the country. Previous to this the 
President had always met the two Houses upon 
their assembling, and had addressed them in 

person. . 

In the fall of 1804 the fifth Presidential election 
was held. The Republicans, or Democrats, voted for 
Mr. Jefferson for the office of President ; this time 
Mr Burr was dropped by his party, who nomi- 
nated George Clinton, of New York, for Vice-Presi- 
dent in his place. The Federals supported Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney for President, and Rufu* 
King for Vice-President. The result was one 
hundred and sixty-two electoral votes for Mr. 
Jefferson and Mr. Clinton, and fourteen only for 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 117 

Mr. Pinckney and Mr. King. By States the vote 
stood: fifteen for the Democratic or Republican 
ticket, and only two States for the Federal. These 
two were Connecticut and Delaware. So popular 
was Mr. Jefferson's Administration, that the cen- 
tralizing party, styling itself « Federal," had be- 
come almost extinct. He was inaugurated for a 
second term on the 4th of March, 1805. 

Aaron Burr had at last experienced the reward 
of his insincerity : both parties had come to dis- 
trust him. After his defeat for the Vice-Presidency 
he had been nominated by his party as their can- 
didate for governor of New York. He was warmly 
opposed by Alexander Hamilton, who was mainly 
instrumental in bringing about his defeat. Burr 
•ever forgave Hamilton for his course in this 
election, and took advantage of the first opportu- 
nity to challenge him to a duel. They met at 
Weehawken, on the banks of the Hudson opposite 
New York, on the 11th of July, 1804. Hamilton, 
who had accepted the challenge in opposition to 
his better judgment, and who had expressed his 
intention not to fire at Burr, was mortally wounded, 
and died within twenty-four hours. In him per- 
ished one of the brightest intellects and most 
earnest patriots of the republic. His loss was 
regarded as second only to that of Washington, 
and the sad news of his death was received in all 
parts of the country with profound and unaffected 
•orrow. 



118 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

The murder of Hamilton, for it was nothing 
else, closed Burr's political career. His remaining 
years were passed in restless intrigue. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. 

4th of March, 1809— 4th of March, 1817. 

In the election of 1808 Mr. Jefferson, following 
the example of President Washington, declined to 
be a candidate for a third term, and the Democratic 
or administration party supported James Madison 
for the Presidency, and George Clinton for the Vice- 
Presidency. The Federal party again nominated 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for President, and 
Rufus King for Vice-President. The result of the 
election was, 122 electoral votes for Madison and 
47 for Pinckney, for President, and 113 for Clinton 
and 47 for King for Vice-President. By States 
the vote stood : 12 for the Democratic ticket, and 
5 for the Federal. These five were New Hamp 
shire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 

and Delaware. 

James Madison, the fourth President of the 
United States, was inaugurated at Washington on 
the 4th of March, 1809. He was in the fifty-eighth 
year of his age, and had long been one of the most 
prominent men in the Union. He had borne a 
distinguished part in the convention of 1787, and 
was the author of the Virginia resolutions of 1786, 
which brought about the assembling of this coi> 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. H9 

mention. He had entered the convention as one 
of the most prominent leaders of the national 
party, which favored the consolidation of the 
States into one distinct and supreme nation, and 
had acted with Randolph, Hamilton, Wilson, 
Morris, and King, in seeking to bring about such 
a result. When it was found impossible to carry 
out this plan Mr. Madison gave his cordial support 
to the system which was finally adopted by the 
convention; and while the constitution was under 
discussion by the States, he united with Hamilton 
and Jay in earnestly recommending the adoption of 
he constitution by the States, in a series of able 
articles, to which the general title of the " Feder* 
alist" was given. After the organization of the 
government Mr. Madison was a member of the 
House of Representatives, and was regarded as 
one of the leaders of the Federalist party, and gave 
to Hamilton his cordial support in the finance 
measures of that minister. Towards the close of 
Washington's administration, however, Mr. Madi- 
son's political views underwent a great change. 
He was a near neighbor and warm friend of Mr. 
Jefferson, and was greatly influenced by the opin- 
ions and the strong personal character of that great 
statesman. As the political controversies of the 
time deepened, he became more and more inclined 
towards the Republican or " Strict Construction " 
party, and in Mr. Adams' administration took his 
position as one of the leaders of that party. At 




JAMES MADISON, 



130 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 121 

the time of his election to the Presidency, Mr. 
Jefferson having withdrawn from public life, Mr. 
Madison was the recognized leader of the Demo- 
cratic party, as the Kepublican party had come to 
be called. 

In 1812 Mr. Madison was again nominated foi 
President by the Democratic party, and Elbridge 
Gerry, of Connecticut, for Vice-President. De 
Witt Clinton, of New York, was supported by the 
-anti-administration or old Federal party for Presi- 
dent, and Jared Ingersoll, of Pennsylvania, for 
Vice-President. Mr. Madison received 128 elec- 
toral votes for President, and Mr. Clinton 89. Mr. 
Gerry received 131 for Vice-President, and Mr. 
Ingersoll 86. By States, the vote stood : For the 
regular Democratic candidates, 11 ; and for tht 
Opposition candidates, 7. The eleven States that 
voted for Mr. Madison were : Vermont, Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and 
Louisiana; and the seven that voted for Mr. Clin- 
ton were : New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and 
Delaware. 

Mr. Madison was inaugurated President for a 
second time, on the 4th of March, 1813. The 
most distinguishing feature of his administration 
was the war witli Great Britain. Whatever may 
be thought of the wisdom or the policy of that 
war, or of its general conduct, the result unques* 



122 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

tionably added greatly to the public character of 
the United States in the estimation of foreign 
powers. The price at which this had been pur- 
chased was in round numbers about one hundred 
million dollars in public expenditures, and the loss 
of about thirty thousand men, including those who 
fell in battle as well as those who died of disease 
contracted in the service. At the close of his 
term Mr. Madison retired from office, leaving the 
coin/ try at peace with the world, and rapidly re- 
covering from the injurious effects of the late war. 
He returned to his home at Montpelier, Virginia, 
where he enjoyed the society of his friends and the 
general esteem of his countrymen. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE. 

4th of March, 1817 -4th of March, 1825. 
The eighth presidential election took place in the 
fall of 1816. Mr. Madison having declined to be 
a candidate for a third term, the Democratic party 
nominated James Monroe, of Virginia, for Presi- 
dent ; Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, for 
Vice-President, and elected them by large majori- 
ties over the Federal candidates, who were : For 
President, Rufus King, of New York ; for Vice- 
President, John Howard, of Maryland. The re- 
sult of the vote of the Electoral Colleges was 183 
for Mr. Monroe, and 34 for Mr. King, for President ; 
183 for Mr. Tompkins, and 22 for Mr. Howard, for 
Vice-President. The vote by States at this election 







JAMES MONROE. 



123 









124 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

stood: 16 for the Democratic, and 3 for the Federal 
candidates. The 16 States that voted for Mr. 
Monroe and Mr. Tompkins were : New Hamp- 
shire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, Ohio, Louisiana, and Indiana. The 3 that 
voted for Mr. King were : Massachusetts, Connec 
ticut, and Delaware. 

James Monroe, the fifth President of the United 
States, was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 
1817, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. His in- 
augural address gave general satisfaction to all 
parties. His cabinet were : John Quincy Adams, 
of Massachusetts, Secretary of State ; William H 
Crawford, of Georgia, Secretary of the Treasury; 
John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, Secretary of 
War; William Wirt, of Virginia, Attorney-General; 
Smith Thompson, of New York, Secretary of the 
Navy. These were all men of distinguished 
ability, and thoroughly identified with the Demo, 
cratic party at the time. 

In the fall of 1820 Mr. Monroe and Governor 
Tompkins were re-elected President and Vice- 
President of the United States. Mr. Monroe re- 
ceived at the polls a majority of the votes of every 
State in the Union, and every electoral vote but 
one. The electoral college of New Hampshire 
cast one vote for John Quincy Adams. 

The 4th of March this year coming on Sunday, 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



125 



Mr. Monroe was inaugurated for the second term 
on the succeeding day, Monday, the 5th of that 
month. 

Monroe's election had been so nearly unanimous, 
and party divisions had nominally so far disap- 
peared, that his administration is commonly 
called the era of good feeling. In reality there was 
as much bad feeling between the Strict Construe- 
tionists and the Loose Constructionists of his party 
as could have existed between two opposing parties. 
The want of regularly organized parties had only 
the effect of making the next Presidential election 
a personal instead of a party contest, the worst 
form a political struggle can take. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN QUINCY 

ADAMS. 

4th of March, 1825— 4th of March, 1829, 

In the fall of 1824 the presidential election was 
held amid great political excitement. The " era 
of good feeling " was at an end, and party spirit 
ran high. There were four candidates in the field, 
Mr. Monroe having declined a third term ; Andrew 
Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William H. Craw- 
ford, and Henry Clay. None of these received a 
popular majority, and the election was thrown into 
the House of Representatives in Congress, and re- 
sulted in the choice of John Quincy Adams, of 
Massachusetts, as President of the United States. 



126 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

The result of the electoral vote was 99 for 
Andrew Jackson, 84 for John Quincy Adams, 41 
for William H. Crawford, and 37 for Henry Clay, 
for President ; and 182 for John C. Calhoun for 
Vice-President, with some scattering votes for 
others. The States that voted for Gen. Jackson 
were : New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, and Alabama — eleven 
in all. Those which voted for John Quincy Adams 
were: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, and New 
York — seven in all. Those that voted for Mr. 
Crawford were : Delaware, Virginia, and Georgia. 
While those that voted for Mr. Clay were : Ken- 
tucky, Ohio, and Missouri. 

Mr. Calhoun, having received a large majority 
of the electoral votes, was duly declared elected 
Vice-President ; but neither of the candidates for 
President having received a majority of the votes 
of the Electoral Colleges, the choice, under the 
Constitution, devolved upon the House of Repre- 
sentatives, voting by States. This choice was 
made on the 9th of February, 1825 ; when, upon 
counting the ballots, it was found that John Quincy 
Adams received the votes of thirteen States, 
Andrew Jackson the votes of seven States, and 
Mr. Crawford the votes of four States. Mr. Adams 
having received the votes of a majority of the 
States was declared elected to succeed Mr. Monroe, 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 127 

This election produced great discontent through- 
out the country, and most seriously affected the 
popularity of Mr. Clay, as the election of Mr. 
Adams was attributed mainly to his agency, which 
had been exerted, as was supposed by many, 
with a view to defeat the election of Gen. Jackson, 




JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

who by the returns of the electoral vote seemed to 
stand highest in the popular favor. 

On the 4th of March, 1825, John Quincy Adams 
was inaugurated President of the United States. 
He was the son of John Adams, the second Presi- 
dent of the republic, and was in his fifty-eighth 



128 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

year. He was a man of great natural ability, of 
strong personal character, and of unbending integ- 
rity. He had been carefully educated, and was 
one of the most learned men in the Union. Apart 
from his general education he had received a special 
training in statesmanship. He had served as min- 
ister to the Netherlands, and in the same capacity 
at the courts of Portugal, Prussia, Russia, and 
England, where he had maintained a high reputa- 
tion. He had represented the State of Massachu- 
setts in the Federal Senate, and had been secretary 
of state, in the cabinet of Mr. Monroe, during the 
last administration. He was, therefore, thoroughly 
qualified for the duties of the high office upon 
which he now entered. He called to his cabinet 
men of marked ability, at the head of which was 
Henry Clay, who became secretary of state. The 
administration of Mr. Adams was one of remark- 
able prosperity. The country was growing 
wealthier by the rapid increase of its agriculture, 
manufactures, and commerce ; and abroad it com- 
manded the respect of the world. Still party 
spirit raged with great violence during the whole 
of this period. 

During Mr. Adams' administration the tariff 
question again engaged the attention of the country. 
The manufacturing interests were still struggling 
Against foreign competition, and it was the opinion 
of the Eastern and Middle States that the general 
government should protect them by the imposition 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 129 

of high duties upon products of foreign countries 
imported into the Union. The South was almost 
a unit in its opposition to a high tariff. Being, as 
we have said, an agricultural section, its interests 
demanded a free market, and it wished to avail 
itself of the privilege of purchasing where it could 
buy cheapest. The South and the West were the 
markets of the East, and the interests of that sec- 
tion demanded the exclusion of foreign competition 
in supplying these markets. 

In July, 1827, a convention of manufacturers 
was held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and a me- 
morial was adopted praying Congress to increase 
the duties on foreign goods to an extent which 
would protect American industry. When Congress 
met in December, 1827, the protective policy was 
the most important topic of the day. It was 
warmly discussed in Congress and throughout the 
country. The interests of New England were 
championed by the matchless eloquence of Daniel 
Webster, who claimed that as the adoption of the 
protective policy by the government had forced 
New England to turn her energies to manufac- 
tures, the government was bound to protect hei 
against competition. The Southern representatives 
argued that a protective tariff was unconstitutional, 
and was injurious in its operations to the interests 
of the people of the Southern States, who, being 
producers of staples for export, ought to have 
liberty to purchase such articles as they needed 



130 FACTS ABOUT A r X OUR PRESIDENTS. 

wherever they could find them cheapest. They 
declared that duties under the protective policy 
were not only bounties to manufacturers, but a 
heavy tax levied upon their constituents and a 
great majority of the consumers in all the States, 
which never went into the public treasury. The 
tariff bill was passed by the House on the 15th of 
April, 1828, and was approved by the President a 
little later. It was termed by its opponents the 
" Bill of Abominations." 

In the midst of this excitement the presidential 
election occurred. Mr. Adams was a candidate 
for re-election. The contest between the two 
parties, the Administration and Opposition, over 
the powers and limitations of the Federal Govern- 
ment, became almost as not and fierce as it was in 
1800, between the Federalists and Republicans of 
that day. General Jackson, without any caucus 
nomination, was supported by the Opposition every- 
where for President, and Mr. Calhoun for Vice- 
President. The friends of the Administration put 
forth the utmost of their exertions for the re-elec- 
tion of Mr. Adams to the office of President, and 
Richard Rush to the office of Vice-President. The 
result of the vote of the Electoral Colleges was, 178 
for Jackson, and 83 for Adams; 171 for Mr. 
Calhoun, and 83 for Mr. Rush. The vote for 
President by States stood : 15 for Jackson and 9 
for Adams. The 15 States that voted for Jackson 
were : New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 131 

Carolina. South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illi 
nois, Alabama, and Missouri • the 9 that voted foi 
Mr. Adams were : Maine, New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont^ 
New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON 

March 4th, 1829— March 4th, 1837. 

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the 
United States, was inaugurated at Washington, on 
the 4th of March, 1829. 

President Jackson was in many respects one of 
the most remarkable men of his day. He pos- 
sessed a combination of qualities seldom met with 
in any one person. Education had done but little 
for him ; but by nature he was fitted for the gov* 
eminent of men both in the field and in the Cabi- 
net. During the Administration of the elder 
Adams he had occupied a seat in the United States 
Senate from Tennessee, and gave a most cordial 
support to the principles of Mr. Jefferson. Resign- 
ing his place in that body, he was afterwards 
elected one of the judges of the Supreme Court of 
his State. His military achievements in the wars 
against the Creek and Seminole Indians, and his 
victory over the British at New Orleans, hnve been 
(Wly recorded. 

The election of General Jackson to the Presi 







ANDREW JACKSON. 



132 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 133 

dency was regarded with some anxiety, for though 
his merits as a soldier were conceded, it was feared 
by many that his known imperiousness of will and 
his inflexibility of purpose would seriously dis- 
qualify him for the delicate duties of the Presi- 
dency. Nature had made him a ruler, however, 
and his administration was marked by the fearless 
energy that characterized every act of his life, and 
was on the whole successful and satisfactory to 
the great majority of his countrymen. 

General Jackson began his administration by 
appointing a new cabinet, at the head of which he 
placed Martin Van Buren, of New York, as Secre- 
tary of State. Until now the postmaster-general 
had not been regarded as a cabinet officer. General 
Jackson invited that officer to a seat in his cabinet 
and a share in its deliberations, and his course has 
been pursued by all of his successors. 

Early in 1831, the question of the Presidential 
succession was agitated. The Legislature of Penn- 
sylvania put General Jackson in nomination for 
re-election, he having consented to be a candidate. 
The election took place in the fall of 1832. 
General Jackson was supported for the Presidency 
by the Democratic party, and Mr. Clay by the 
Whig party. The contest was marked by intense 
bitternesn, for Jackson's veto of the charter of the 
Bank of the United States, his other vetoes of 
public improvement bills, and his attitude in the 
" Nullification " controversy between the United 



134 PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

States and South Carolina, had created a strong 
opposition to him in all parts of the country. In 
spite of this opposition he was re-elected by a tri- 
umphant majority, and Martin Van Buren, of 
New York, the Democratic nominee, was chosen 
Vice-President. 

The following electoral votes were cast for the 
respective candidates : for Jackson, 219 ; for Clay, 
49 ; and for Wirt, the Anti-Masonic candidate, 7 
votes. For Vice-President, the electoral votes 
stood: for Martin Van Buren, 189; for John 
Sergeant, 49; for Amos Ellmaker, 7. The vote 
by States for the candidates for the Presidency 
stood: 16 for Jackson; 6 for Clay; and 1 for 
Wirt. The 16 States that voted for Jackson were; 
Maine, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, 
Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, 
Illinois, Alabama, and Missouri ; the 6 States that 
voted for Mr. Clay were : Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and 
Kentucky ; the State that voted for Mr. Wirt was: 
Vermont; South Carolina cast her vote for John 
Floyd, of Virginia, for President, and Henry Lee, 
of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. 

President Jackson was inaugurated for his 
second term on the 4th of March, 1833. 

In the meantime serious trouble had arisen be< 
tween the general government and the State of 
South Carolina. During the year 1832 the tariff 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 135 

was revised by Congress, and that body, instead of 
diminishing the duties, increased many of them. 
This action gave great offence to the Southern 
States, which regarded the denial of free trade as 
a great wrong to them. They were willing to sub- 
mit to a tariff sufficient for a revenue, but were 
utterly opposed to a protective tariff for the reasons 
We have already stated. 

The State of South Carolina resolved to " nul- 
lify "' the law within its own limits. A convention 
of the people of the State was held, which adopted 
a measure known as the " Nullification Ordinance." 
Tnia ordinance declared that the tariff act of 1832, 
being based upon the principle of protection, and 
not upon the principle of raising revenue, was un- 
constitutional, and was therefore null and void. 
This ordinance was to take effect on the 12th of 
February, 1833, unless in the meantime the general 
government should abandon its policy of protection 
and return to a tariff for revenue only. 

The country at large was utterly opposed to the 
course of South Carolina, and denied its right to 
nullify a law of Congress, or to withdraw from the 
Union in support of this right. Intense excitement 
prevailed, and the course of the President was 
watched with the gravest anxiety. He was 
known to be opposed to the protective policy ; but 
it was generally believed that he was firm in his 
intention to enforce the laws, however he might 
disapprove of them. 



136 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

President Jackson took measures promptly to 
enforce the law. He ordered a large body of troops 
to assemble at Charleston, under General Scott, 
and a ship of war was sent to that port to assist 
the federal officers in collecting the duties on im- 
ports. Civil war seemed for a time inevitable. 
The President was firmly resolved to compel the 
submission of South Carolina, and the issue of such 
a conflict could not be doubtful. 

Fortunately a peaceful settlement of the trouble 
was effected. Mr. Verplanck, of New York, a sup- 
porter of the administration, introduced a bill into 
Congress for a reduction of the tariff, and the State 
of Virginia sent Benjamin Watkins Leigh, a dis- 
tinguished citizen, as commissioner to South Caro- 
lina, to urge her to suspend the execution of her 
ordinance until March 4th, as there was a proba- 
bility that a peaceful settlement of the difficulty 
would be arranged before that time. South Caro- 
lina consented to be guided by this appeal. 

Henry Clay, with his usual patriotic self-sacrifice, 
now came forward in the Senate with a compromise 
which he hoped would put an end to the trouble. 
He introduced a bill providing for the gradual re* 
duction in ten years of all duties then above the 
revenue standard. " One-tenth of one-half of all the 
duties for protection above that standard was to be 
taken off annually for ten years, at the end of 
which period the whole of the other half was to be 
taken off, and thereafter all duties were to bt 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 137 

levied mainly with a view to revenue and not for 
protection." This measure with some modifica- 
tions was adopted by both Houses of Congress, 
and was approved by the President on the 2d of 
March, 1833. The people of South Carolina 
rescinded their " Nullification Ordinance," and the 
trouble was fortunately brought to an end. 

The Administration of Gen. Jackson was distin- 
guished for many acts of foreign as well as domes- 
tic policy which cannot be embraced in this brief 
sketch. Taken all together, it made a deep and 
lasting impression upon the policy and history of 
the States. On his retirement following the ex- 
ample of Washington, he issued a Farewell Address, 
in which he evinced the most ardent patriotism and 
the most earnest devotion to the cause of constitu- 
tional liberty. 

The presidential election was held in the fall of 
1836. General Jackson having declined to be a 
candidate for a third term, the Democratic party 
supported Martin Van Buren for President, and 
Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, for Vice-Presi- 
dent. Mr. Van Buren was elected; but the 
electors having failed to make a choice of a candi* 
date for Vice-President, that task devolved upon 
the Senate, which elected Colonel Richard M 
Johnson by a majority of seventeen votes. 

The electoral votes cast for the several can- 
didates for President were as follows: 170 for 
Martin Van Buren, 14 for Daniel Webster, 73 for 



138 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

William Henry Harrison, 11 for W. P. Mang^a, 
of N. C, and 26 for H. L. White, of Tennessee. 
Mr. Van Buren, having received a majority, was 
duly declared President for the next term. The 
vote by States in this election was: 15 for Mr. 
Van Buren, 7 for General Harrison, 2 for Mr. 
White, and 1 for Mr. Webster. The 15 States 
that voted for Mr. Van Buren were : Maine, New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, 
and Michigan ; the 7 that voted for General Har- 
rison were: Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware, 
Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana; the 2 
that voted for Mr. White were : Georgia and Ten- 
nessee; the one State that voted for Mr. Webi.er 
was Massachusetts 

The votes of the Electoral Colleges for Vice 
President were : 147 for Bichard M. Johnson, ol 
Kentucky ; 77 for Francis Granger, of New York', 
47 for John Tyler, of Virginia ; and 23 for Wil- 
liam Smith, of Alabama. Neither of the candi- 
dates for Vice-President having received a majority 
of the votes, the choice of that officer devolved upon 
the Senate, and that body elected Col. Johnson by 
a vote of 33, against 16 for Mr. Granger. 

ADMINISTBATION OF VAN BUREN. 
4th of March, 1837— 4th of March, 1841. 
Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the 



7ACT3 ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 139 

United States, was inaugurated on the 4th of 
March. 1837. in the 55th year of his age. "At high 

noon the President elect took his seat, with his 
venerable predecessor. General Jackson, in a car- 
riage, made from the wood of the frigate C<m* 
stitution. presented to General Jackson by the 
Democracy of the city of New York. In this from 
the White House they proceeded to the Capitol. 
After reaching the Senate Chamber Mr. Van Buren. 
attended by the ex-President 3 and the members of 
the Senate, led the way to the rostrum, where the 
Inaugural Address was delivered in clear and im- 
pressive tones. At the close of the Address the 
oath of office was administered by Chief-Justice 
Taney." 

In the Address Mr. Van Buren indicated his 
purpose, on all matters of public policy, to follow 
in the " footsteps of his illustrious predecessor." 

A distinguished writer, in speaking of Mr. Van 
Buren's Administration, as a whole. Bays : 

- The great event of General Jackson's Admin- 
istration was the contest with the Bank of the 
United States, and its destruction as a Federal 
institution — that of Madison's was the war — while 
Jefferson's was a general revolution of the anti- 
Democratic spirit and policy of the preceding 
Administration. The great event of Mr. Van 
Buren's Administration, by which it will hereafter 
be known and designated, is, the divorce of Bank 
and State in the fiscal affairs of the Federal Gov- 




MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



14 ' 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 141 

eminent, and the return, after half a century of 
deviation, to the original design of the Constitu- 
tion." 

In the fall of 1840 another Presidential election 
was held. Mr. Van Buren and Vice-President 
Johnson were nominated for re-election by the 
Democratic party, and the Whigs supported Gen- 
eral William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, for Presi* 
dent, and John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice-Presi- 
dent. The financial distress of the country which 
had been very great since 1837, was generally 
attributed by the people to the interference of the 
government with the currency. This feeling made 
the Democratic nominees exceedingly unpopular, 
and the political campaign was one of the most 
exciting ever conducted in this country. 

The principal issues in this contest were the 
sub-treasury system, extravagant appropriations, 
defalcations, and profligacy of numerous subordi- 
nate officers. The "gold spoons' 1 furnished the 
Executive Mansion figured prominently in the 
canvass. All the opposing elements united under 
the Whig banner. This party held a general con- 
vention at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the 4th 
of December, 1839, for the purpose of nominating 
candidates for President and Vice-President. It 
was generally supposed that Mr. Clay would re- 
ceive the nomination of this body for President. 
But his course on the Tariff Compromise of 1833 
had greatly weakened him with the Protectionist* 



142 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

When he adopted that course he was told it would 
lose him the Presidency. His reply at the time 
was, " I would rather be right than be President.' 9 
The Democratic party held their general conven- 
tion in Baltimore on the 5th of May, 1840. Log- 
cabins and hard cider, which were supposed to be 
typical of Harrison's frontier life, became very 
popular with the Whigs. The result of the elec- 
tion, after a heated canvass, was 234 electoral 
votes for Harrison for President, and 234 for John 
Tyler for Vice-President. Mr. Van Buren re- 
ceived 60 electoral votes for President; Richard 
M. Johnson, of Kentucky, received 48 for Vice- 
President; Littleton W. Tazewell, of Virginia, 11, 
and James K. Polk, of Tennessee, 1. The vote 
for President by States stood 19 for General Har- 
rison and 7 for Mr. Van Buren. The seven States 
that voted for Mr. Van Buren were : New Hamp- 
shire, Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Alabama, 
Missouri, and Arkansas. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND 

TYLER. 

4th of March, 1841— 4th of March, 1845. . 
William Henry Harrison, the ninth President 
of the United States, was inaugurated on the 4th 
of March, 1841, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. 
The city of Washington was thronged with people, 
many of whom were from the most distant States 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



143 



of the Union. A procession was formed from his 
hotel quarters to the capitol. The President-elect 
was mounted upon a white charger, accompanied 
by several personal friends, but his immediate escort 
were the officers and soldiers who had fought under 
him. The inaugural address was delivered on a 




WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 

platform erected over the front steps of the portico 
of the east front of the capitol. The oath of office 
was administered by Chief-Justice Taney, before 
an audience estimated at 60,000 people. 

He was a man of pure life and earnest character, 
and the certainty of a change of policy in the 
measures of the federal government had caused 



144 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

the people of the country to look forward to his 
administration with hope and confidence. He 
began by calling to seats in his cabinet men of 
prominence and ability. At the head of the cab- 
inet he placed Daniel Webster as Secretary of 
State. The President was not destined to fulfil 
the hopes of his friends. He was suddenly at- 
tacked with pneumonia, and died on the 4th of 
^pril— just one month after his inauguration. 

It was the first time that a President of the 
United States had died in office, and a gloom was 
cast over the nation by the sad event. The mourn- 
ing of the people was sincere, for in General Har- 
rison the nation lost a faithful, upright, and able 
leader. He had spent forty years in prominent 
public positions, and had discharged every duty 
confided to him with ability and integrity, and 
went to his grave a poor man. 

The office of President now, for the first time, de- 
volved upon the Vice-President, John Tyler, who, 
by the death of General Harrison, became the tenth 
President of the United States. He was not in the 
City of Washington at the time of the death of his 
predecessor, but repaired to that city without loss 
of time, upon being notified of the death of General 
Harrison, and on the 6th of April took the oath of 
office before Judge Cranch, Chief- Justice of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. Mr. Tyler was in his fifty-second 
year, and had served as governor of Virginia, and 
as representative and senator in Congress from 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 145 

tfiat State. On the 9th of April President Tyler 
issued an address to the people of the United States, 
in which there was no indication of a departure 
from the policy announced in the inaugural of Gen- 
eral Harrison. He retained the cabinet ministers of 
his predecessors in their respective positions. 

The last years of Mr. Tyler's administration 
were devoted to the effort to secure the annexation 




JOHN TYLER. 



of the republic of Texas to the United States. The 
territory embraced within the limits of Texas con- 
stituted a part of the Spanish-American possessions, 
and was generally regarded as a part of Mexico. 

In April, 1844, Texas formally applied for ad- 
mission into the United States, and a treaty for 
that purpose was negotiated with her by the gov- 



K 



146 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

ernment of this country. It was rejected by the 

Senate. 

In the fall of 1844 the presidential election took 
place. The leading political question of the day 
was the annexation of Texas. It was advocated 
by the administration of President Tyler and by 
the Democratic party. This party also made the 
claim of the United States to Oregon one of the 
leading issues of the campaign. Its candidates 
were James K. Polk, of Tennessee, and George M. 
Dallas, of Pennsylvania. The Whig party sup- 
ported Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and Theodore 
Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, and opposed the 
annexation of Texas. 

During this campaign, which was one of unusual 
excitement, the Anti-slavery party made its appear- 
ance for the first time as a distinct political organ- 
ization, and nominated James G. Birney as its 
candidate for the Presidency. 

The result of the campaign was a decisive vic- 
tory for the Democrats. This success was gen- 
erally regarded as an emphatic expression of the pop- 
ular will respecting the Texas and Oregon questions. 
The result of the election by the colleges was : 
170 electoral votes for James K. Polk, for Presi- 
dent, and 170 for George M. Dallas, for Vice-Presi- 
dent ; 105 for Henry Clay, for President, and 105 
for Theodore Frelinghuysen, for Vice-President. 
By States the vote stood : 15 for the Democratic 
ticket, and 11 for the Whig ticket. Mr. Birney 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 14 7 

received no electoral vote; but local returns 
showed that, out of the popular vote of upward* 
of two and a half millions, there were polled for 
him only 64,653. The fifteen States that voted 
for Mr. Polk were : Maine, New Hampshire, New 
York,^ Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, 
Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, and Michigan; the 
eleven that voted for Mr. Clay were : Massachu- 
setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New 
Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. 

After the expiration of his term of office, Mr. 
Tyler retired from the seat of Government to his 
residence in Virginia. His administration was a 
stormy one, but signalized by many important 
events. It was during this period that the electro- 
telegraphic system was established by Morse. A 
room was furnished him at the Capitol for his ex- 
perimental operations in extending his wires to 
Baltimore; and among the first messages ever 
transmitted over them was the announcement of 
the nomination of Mr. Polk for the Presidency. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 

4th of March, 1845— 4th of March, 1849. 

James K. Polk, the eleventh President of the 
United States, was inaugurated on the 4th of 
March, 1845, in the 50th year of his age. The 
oath of office was administered by Chief-Justice 



148 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Taney, in the presence of a large assemblage of 
citizens. In his inaugural, the new President 
spoke favorably of the late action of Congress in 
relation to Texas, and asserted that the title of the 
United States to the whole of Oregon was cleat 
and indisputable, and intimated his intention to 
taaintain it by force if necessary. 




JAMES K. POLK. 

The new cabinet consisted of James Buchanan, 
of Pennsylvania, Secretary of State; Robert J. 
Walker, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Treasury; 
William L. Marcy, of New York, Secretary of 
War- George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, Secre- 
tory of the Navy ; Cave Johnson, of Tennessee, 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 14y 

Postmaster-General ; and John Y. Mason, of Vir- 
ginia, Attorney-GeneraL 

President Polk had served the country as gov- 
ernor of the State of Tennessee, and for fourteen 
years had been a member of Congress from that 
State, and had been chosen speaker of that body. 
Two important questions presented themselves to 
the new administration for settlement : the troubles 
with Mexico growing out of the annexation of 
Texas, h,nd the arrangement of the northwestern 
boundary of the United States. 

During the Presidential campaign of 1844 the 
Democratic party adopted as its watchword, " all 
of Oregon or none," and the excitement upon the 
question ran high. The election of Mr. Polk 
showed that the American people were resolved to 
insist upon their claim to Oregon, and when the 
new President in his inaugural address took the 
bold ground that the American title to " Oregon 
territory' u was clear and indisputable," and de- 
clared his intention to maintain it at the cost of 
war with England, the matter assumed a serious 
aspect, and for a while it seemed that party pas- 
sion would involve the two countries in hostilities, 
President Polk, upon a calmer consideration of the 
subject, caused the secretary of state to reopen the 
negotiations by proposing to Great Britain the 
forty-ninth parallel of latitude as a boundary, and 
that was finally agreed upon. 

During the fall of 1848 another Presidential 



150 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

election came off. The combined elements of 
opposition to the administration, in the main, 
continued to bear the name of Whigs, though the 
anti-slavery element now formed a distinct organi- 
zation known as " Free-Soilers." The Democratic 
party held their General Convention at Baltimore, 
on the 22d of May, and put in nomination for the 
Presidency General Lewis Cass, of Michigan, and 
for the Vice-Presidency General William 0. Butler, 
of Kentucky. The Whigs held their Convention 
at Philadelphia on the 1st of June, and put in 
nomination for the Presidency General Zachary 
Taylor, of Louisiana, and for the Vice-Presidency 
Millard Fillmore, of New York. The Free-Soilei* 
held their Convention at Buffalo, N. Y., ok tix 
8th of August, and put in nomination for the 
Presidency Martin Van Buren, of New York, and 
for the Vice-Presidency Charles Francis Adams, 
of Massachusetts. 

The result of the election was 163 electoral 
votes for the Whig ticket and 127 for the Demo- 
cratic. The Free-Soil ticket received no electoral 
vote ; but local returns showed that out of a popu- 
lar vote of nearly 3,000,000, there were polled for 
it nearly 300,000 votes. The vote for Taylor and 
Fillmore by States stood 15; and for Cass and 
Butler 15 also. The 15 States that voted for 
Taylor and Fillmore were Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North 






FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



151 



Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, 
and Florida ; the 15 that voted for Cass and Butler 
were Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia, South 
Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Ala- 
bama, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Texas, Iowa, 
and Wisconsin. Taylor and Fillmore, having 
received a majority of the electoral votes, were 
declared elected to the offices of President and 
Vice-President. 

On the 4th of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired to 
his home in Tennessee. His administration had 
#een a stormy one. It will, however, always be 
distinguished in history by its eminently wise 
financial and revenue policy, the settlement of the 
Oregon question with England, and the immense 
acquisition of territory from Mexico. During its 
period also, great lustre was added to the military 
renown of the United States. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF 
TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 
4th of March, 1849— 4th of March, 1853 
The 4th of March, 1849, coming on Sunday 
General Taylor was duly inaugurated as the 
twelfth President of the United States on the next 
day, Monday, the 5th of that month, in the 65th 
year of his age. The oath of office was adminis- 
tered by Chief-Justice Taney, in the presence of an 
immense concourse of people. 

The new President was a native of Virginia, 




ZACHABY TAYLOR. 



152 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 153 

but had removed with his parents to Kentucky at 
an early age, and had grown up to manhood on the 
frontiers of that State. In 1808, at the age of 
twenty-four, he was commissioned a lieutenant in 
the army by President Jefferson, and had spent 
forty years in the military service of the country. 
His exploits in the Florida war and brilliant vic- 
tories in Mexico had made him the most popular 
man in the United States, and had won him the 
high office of the Presidency at the hands of his 
grateful fellow-citizens. He was without political 
experience, but he was a man of pure and stain- 
less integrity, of great firmness, a sincere patriot, 
and possessed of strong good sense. He had re- 
ceived a majority of the electoral votes of both the 
Northern and Southern States, and was free from 
party or sectional ties of any kind. His inaugural 
address was brief, and was confined to a statement 
of general principles. His cabinet was composed 
of the leaders of the Whig party, with John M. 
Clayton, of Delaware, as Secretary of State. The 
last Congress had created a new executive depart- 
ment — that of the interior — to relieve the secre- 
tary of the treasury of a part of his duties, and 
President Taylor was called upon to appoint the 
first secretary of the interior, which he did in the 
person of Thomas Ewing, of Ohio. The new de- 
partment was charged with the management of the 
public lands, the Indian tribes, and the issuing of 
patents to inventors. 



154 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Since the announcement of the Wilmot Proviso, 
the agitation of the slavery question had' been in- 
cessant, and had increased instead of diminishing 
with each succeeding year. It was one of the chief 
topics of discussion in the newspaper press of the 
country, and entered largely into every political 
controversy, however local or insignificant in its 
nature. The opponents of slavery regarded the 
annexation of Texas and the Mexican war as 
efforts to extend that institution, and were resolved 
to put an end to its existence at any cost. The 
advocates of slavery claimed that the Southern 
States had an equal right to the common property 
of the States, and were entitled to protection for 
their slaves in any of the Territories then owned 
by the States or that might afterwards be acquired 
by them. The Missouri Compromise forbade the 
existence jf slavery north of the line of 36° 3(Y 
north latitude, and left the inhabitants south of 
that line free to decide upon their own institutions. 
The Anti-slavery party was resolved that slavery 
should be excluded from the territory acquired 
from Mexico, and in the Wilmot Proviso struck 
their first blow for the accomplishment of this pur- 
pose. 

Upon the organization of the House President 
Taylor sent in his first and only message. He re- 
cognized the danger with which the sectional con- 
troversy threatened the country, expressed his 
views of the situation in moderate terms^ and inti- 




Mil LARD FILLMORE. 



155 



156 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

mated that he should faithfully discharge Ms 
duties to the whole country. 

About the last of June, 1850, President Taylor 
was stricken down with a fever, which soon ter« 
minated fatally. He died on the 9th of July amid 
the grief of the whole country, which felt that it 
had lost a faithful and upright chief magistrate. 
Though the successful candidate of one political 
party, his administration had received the earnest 
support of the best men of the country without 
regard to party, and his death was a national 
calamity. He had held office only sixteen months, 
but had shown himself equal to his difficult and 
delicate position. 

By the terms of the Constitution the office of 
President devolved upon Millard Fillmore, Vice- 
President of the United States. On the 10th of 
July he took the oath of office, and at once entered 
upon the duties of his new position. 

Mr. Fillmore was a native of New York, an(| 
was born in that State in the year 1800. He had 
served his State in Congress, and as governor, and 
was personally one of the most popular of the 
Presidents. The cabinet of General Taylor re* 
signed their offices immediately after his death, 
and the new President filled their places by ap- 
pointing a new cabinet with Daniel Webster at ita 
head as Secretary of State. 

On the 4th of July, 1851, the corner-stone of 
the two new wings of the capitol was laid. Mr. 






FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESENTS. 157 

Webster delivered a speech on the occasion which 
was considered one of the greatest of his life. It 
was delivered to an immense audience, on a plat- 
form erected on the east side of the capitol. In it, 
among other things, he said : 

" If it shall hereafter be the will of God \hat 
this structure shall fall from its base — that its 
foundations shall be upturned, and the deposit be- 
neath this stone be brought to the eyes of men — 
be it then known that on this day the Union of th_ 
United States of America stands firm, that this 
Constitution still exists unimpaired, and, with all 
its usefulness and glory, is growing every day 
stronger in the affections of the great body of the 
American people, and attracting more and more 
the admiration of the world." 

During the fall of this year (1852) another 
Presidential election took place. 

The Democratic party nominated Franklin 
Pierce, of New Hampshire, for President, and Wil- 
liam R. King, of Alabama, for Vice-President. 
The Whig party nominated General Winfield Scott 
for President, and William A. Graham, of North 
Carolina, for Vice-President. The Anti-slavery 
party put in nomination John P. Hale, of New 
Hampshire, and George W. Julian, of Indiana. 
The election resulted in the choice of the candi- 
dates of the Democratic party by an overwhelming 
majority. 

Mr. King, the Vice-President elect, did not long 



158 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

survive his triumph. His health had beeii deli- 
cate for many years, and he was obliged to pass the 
winter succeeding the election in Cuba. Being 
unable to return home, he took the oath of office 
before the American consul, at Havana, on the 4th 
of March. He then returned to the United States, 
and died at his home in Alabama on the 18th of 

April, 1853. 

The result of the election was : 251 electoral 
Votes for Pierce and King ; and 42 for Scott and 
Graham ; by States, 27 for Pierce and King, and 
i for Scott and Graham. The States which voted 
for General Scott were : Massachusetts, Vermont, 
Kentucky, and Tennessee. The anti-slavery ticket 
received no electoral vote, but out of the popular 
vote of nearly 3,500,000, it polled 155,825 indi- 
vidual votes, being little over half of what it polled 
at the previous election. 

In October, 1852, the whole country was again 
thrown into mourning by the announcement of the 
death of Mr. Webster, the last survivor of the great 
senatorial " trio," Clay, Calhoun and Webster. 

They were regarded as the three greatest states- 
men of the country in their day. They were all 
men of very great ability, of very different charac- 
ters of mind, as well as styles of oratory. They 
differed also widely on many questions of public 
policy. But they were all true patriots in the 
highest sense of that term. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 159 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 

4th of March, 1853— 4th of March, 1857. 

On the 4th of March, 1853, Franklin Pierce, of 
New Hampshire, the fourteenth President of the 
United States, was duly inaugurated in the, 49th 




FRANKLIN PIEECE. 

year of his age. The oath of office was adminis- 
tered by Chief-Justice Taney. 

General Pierce was an accomplished orator, and 
his inaugural address was delivered in his happiest 
style, in a tone of voice that was distinctly heard 
at a great distance. It was responded to by shouts 
from the surrounding multitudes. 



160 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

The most important measure of Mr. Pierce's acL 
ministration was the bill to organize the Territories 
of Kansas and Nebraska. The region embraced 
in these Territories formed a part of the Louisiana 
purchase, and extended from the borders of Mis- 
souri, Iowa, and Minnesota to the summit of the 
Rocky mountains, and from the parallel of 36° 30' 
north latitude to the border of British America. 
This whole region by the terms of the Missouri 
Compromise had been secured to free labor by the 
exclusion of slavery. 

The people engaged warmly in the discussion 
aroused by the reopening of the question of slavery 
in the Territories. The North resented the repeal of 
the Missouri Compromise, and in the South a large 
and respectable party sincerely regretted the repeal 
of that settlement. By the passage of the Kansas- 
Nebraska bill the Thirty-third Congress assumed 
a grave responsibility, and opened the door to a 
bloody and bitter conflict in the Territories between 
slavery and free labor. The troubles in Kansas 
which followed gave rise to a new party which 
called itself Republican, and which was based 
upon an avowed hostility to the extension of 
slavery. A third party, called the American, or 
Know Nothing, also took part in the Presidential 
campaign of 1856, and was based upon the doctrine 
that the political offices of the country should be 
held only by persons of American birth. The 
Democratic party nominated James Buchanan, of 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 161 

Pennsylvania, for the Presidency, and John C. 
Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for the Vice-Presidency. 
The Republican nominee for the Presidency was 
John C. Fremont, of California; for the Vice- 
Presidency William L. Dayton, of New Jersey. 
The American or Know Nothing party supported 
Millard Fillmore, of New York, for the Presidency, 
and Andrew J. Donelson, of Tennessee, for the 
Vice-Presidency. The Whig party had been 
broken to pieces by its defeat in 1852, and had 
now entirely disappeared. 

The canvass was unusually excited. Slavery 
was the principal question in dispute. Party ties 
had little influence upon men. The sentiment of 
the nation at large had been outraged by the re- 
peal of the Missouri Compromise, and thousands 
of Democrats, desiring to rebuke their party for its 
course in bringing about this repeal, united with 
the Republican party, which declared as its lead- 
ing principle that it was " both the right and the 
duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories 
those twin relics of barbarism — polygamy and 
slavery." 

The elections resulted in the triumph of James 
Buchanan, the candidate of the Democratic party. 
Mr. Buchanan received 174 electoral votes; Gen- 
eral Fremont 114, and Fillmore 8. The vote by 
States was : 19 for the Democratic ticket; 11 for 
the Republican, and 1 for the American. The 
nineteen States that voted for Mr. Buchanan were: 



162 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, 
Illinois, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, Florida, 
Texas, and California. The eleven that voted for 
Fremont were : Maine, New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, 
New York, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin. 
The one that voted for Fillmore was Maryland. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

March 4th, 1857— March 4th, 1861. 

James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, the fifteenth 
President of the United States, was inaugurated 
on the 4th of March, 1857, in the 66th year of 
his age, and was a statesman of ripe experience. 
The oath of office was administered by Chief- 
Justice Taney. His inaugural was conciliatory, 
and approbatory of the principles of the Kansas 
and Nebraska bill upon which he had been elected. 
He was born in Pennsylvania, in 1791, and was 
by profession a lawyer. He had served his State 
in Congress as a representative and a senator, had 
been minister to Russia under President Jackson, 
and had been a member of the Cabinet of Presi- 
dent Polk, as Secretary of State. During the four 
years previous to his election to the Presidency, 
he had resided abroad as the Minister of the 
United States to Great Britain, and in that capae* 




JAMES BUCHANAN. 



163 



164 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

ity had greatly added to his reputation as a states- 
man. The intense sectional feeling which the dis- 
cussion of the slavery question had aroused had 
alarmed patriotic men in all parts of the Union, 
and it was earnestly hoped that Mr. Buchanan's 
administration would be able to effect a peaceful 
settlement of the quarrel. Mr. Buchanan selected 
his Cabinet from the leading men of the Democratic 
party. Lewis Cass, of Michigan, was appointed 
Secretary of State ; Howell Cobb, of Georgia, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury ; John B. Floyd, of Vir- 
ginia, Secretary of War; Isaac Toucey, of Connec- 
ticut, Secretary of the Navy ; Jacob Thompson, of 
Mississippi, Secretary of Interior ; Aaron V. Brown, 
of Tennessee, Postmaster-General, and Jeremiah S. 
Black, of Pennsylvania, Attorney-General. The 
two leading subjects which immediately engaged 
the attention of the new administration were 
the state of affairs in Utah on the one hand, and 
Kansas on the other. 

On the night of the 16th of October, 1859, John 
Brown, who had acquired a considerable notoriety 
as the leader of a Free Soil company during the 
war in Kansas, entered the State of Virginia, at 
Harper's Ferry, with a party of twenty-one men, 
and seized the United States arsenal at that place. 
He then sent out parties to induce the negro slaves 
to join him, his avowed object being to put an end 
to slavery in Virginia by exciting an insurrection 
gf the slaves. Several citizens were kidnapped by 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 165 

these parties, but the slaves refused to join Brown, 
or to take any part in the insurrection. 

The effect of Brown's attempt upon the South- 
ern people was most unfortunate. They regarded 
it as unanswerable evidence of the intention of the 
people of the North to make war upon them under 
the cover of the Union. The John Brown raid 
was the most powerful argument that had ever 
been placed in the hands of the disunionists, and 
in the alarm and excitement produced by that 
event, the Southern people lost sight of the fact 
that the great mass of the Northern people sin- 
cerely deplored and condemned the action of 
Brown and his supporters. 

While the excitement was at its height the 
Presidential campaign opened in the spring of 
1860. The slavery question was the chief issue 
in this struggle. The Convention of the Democra- 
tic party met at Charleston, in April, but being 
unable to effect an organization, adjourned to Bal- 
timore, and reassembled in that city in June. The 
extreme Southern delegates were resolved that the 
convention should be committed to the protection 
of slavery in the Territories by Congress, and fail- 
ing to control it withdrew from it in a body, and 
organized a separate convention, which they de- 
clared represented the Democratic party, but which, 
in reality, as the vote subsequently proved, repre- 
sented but a minority of that party. 

The original convention, after the withdrawaJ 



166 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

of these delegates, nominated for the Presidency 
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and for the Vice- 
Presidency Herschell V. Johnson, of Georgia. It 
then proceeded to adopt the platform put forward 
by the entire party four years before, at Cincinnati, 
upon the nomination of Mr. Buchanan, with this 
additional declaration : " That as differences of 
opinion exist in the Democratic party as to the 
nature and extent of the powers of a territorial 
legislature, and as to the powers and duties of Con- 
gress under the Constitution of the United States 
over the institution of slavery within the Territo- 
ries, . . . the party will abide by the decisions of 
the Supreme Court of the United States on the 
questions of constitutional law." 

The " Seceders' Convention," as it was commonly 
called, also adopted the Cincinnati platform, and 
pledged themselves to non-interference by Congress 
with slavery in the Territories or in the District of 
Columbia. This party held to the doctrine that 
the Constitution recognized slavery as existing in 
the Territories, and sanctioned and protected it 
there, and that neither Congress nor the people of 
the Territories could frame any law against 
slavery until the admission of such Territories 
into the Union as States. The " Seceders' Con- 
vention " put forward as its candidate for the Pres- 
idency John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and 
for the Vice-Presidency Joseph Lane, of Oregon. 

The Republican party took issue with both wings 



FACTS ABOUV ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 167 

of the Democratic party. Its convention was held 
at Chicago, Illinois, and its candidates were, for 
President, Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and for 
Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine. The 
platform of principles adopted by the Republican 
Convention declared that " the maintenance of the 
principles promulgated in the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence and embodied in the federal Constitution 
is essential to the preservation of our republican 
institutions. . . . That all men are created equal ; 
that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- 
tain inalienable rights." 

A fourth party, known as the "American or 
Constitutional Union Party," proclaimed as its 
platform the following vague sentence : " The con- 
stitution of the country, the union of the States, 
and the enforcement of the laws." The convention 
->f this party met at Baltimore, and nominated for 
he Presidency John Bell, of Tennessee, and for 
the Vice-Presidency Edward Everett, of Massachu- 
setts. 

The contest between these parties was bitter 
beyond all precedent, and resulted as follows: 
Popular vote for Lincoln, . 1,866,452 

Douglas, . 1,375,157 

" " Breckinridge, 847,953 

Bell, . . 590,631 

The electoral vote stood as follows: For Lincoln. 
180; for Breckinridge, 72; for Bell, 39; for 
Douglas 12. 



168 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Mr. Lincoln was thus elected by a plurality of 
the popular vote, which secured for him the elec- 
toral votes of eighteen States. These States wers 
entirely north of the sectional line, and he received 
not a single electoral vote from a Southern State 
The States which cast their electoral votes for 
Breckinridge, Bell, and Douglas, were entirely 
slaveholding. The division thus made was alarm- 
ing. It was the first time in the history of the 
republic that a President had been elected by the 
votes of a single section of the Union. 

The eighteen States that voted for Mr. Lincoln, 
under the plurality count of the popular vote, 
were : Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, 
and Oregon. The eleven that voted for Mr. 
Breckinridge were : Delaware, Maryland, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas. 
The three that so voted for Mr. Bell were : Vir- 
ginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee ; and the one that 
so voted for Mr. Douglas was Missouri. Mr. Lin- 
coln did not receive the majority of the popular 
vote in but sixteen of the thirty-three States then 
constituting the Union ; so he had been constitu- 
tionally elected, without having received a majority 
of the popular vote of the States or of the people. 






rACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS Ifto, 



ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM 

LINCOLN. 

March 4th, 1861— April 15th, 1865. 
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of 
ihe United States, was inaugurated at Washington 
on the 4th of March, 1861. As it was feared 
that an attempt would be made to prevent the in- 
auguration, the city was held by a strong body of 
regular troops, under General Scott, and the Presi 
dent elect was escorted from his hotel to the capito! 
by a military force. No effort was made to inter- 
fere with the ceremonies, and the inauguration 
passed off quietly. 

The new President was in his fifty-third year, 
and was a native of Kentucky. When he was but 
eight years old his father removed to Indiana, and 
the boyhood of the future President was spent in 
hard labor upon the farm. Until he reached man- 
hood he continued to lead this life, and during this 
entire period attended school for only a year. At 
the age of twenty-one he removed to Illinois, 
where he began life as a storekeeper. Being anx 
ious to rise above his humble position, he deter- 
mined to study law. He was too poor to buy the 
necessary books, and so borrowed them from a 
neighboring lawyer, read them at night, and re- 
turned them in the morning. His genial character, 
great good nature, and love of humor, won him 



170 FACTS ABOUT ALL OOT fSESIDENTS. 

the friendship of the people araon^ whom he re- 
sided, and they elected him to the Uwer house of 
the legislature of Illinois. He now abandoned his 
mercantile pursuits, and began the practice of the 
law. and was subsequently elected a repfes^ntativ^ 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



to Congress from the Springfield district. He took 
an active part in the politics of his State, and in 
1858 was the candidate of the Republican party 
for United States senator. In this capacity he en- 
gaged in a series of debates in various parts of the 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR FKESIDENTS. 171 

State with Senator Douglas, the Democratic can- 
didate for re-election to the same position. This 
debate was remarkable for its brilliancy and intel- 
lectual vigor, and brought him prominently before 
the whole country, and opened the way to his 
nomination for the Presidency. In person he was 
tall and ungainly, and in manner he was rough and 
awkward, little versed in the refinements of so- 
ciety. He was a man, however, of great natural 
vigor of intellect, and was possessed of a fund of 
strong common sense, which enabled him to see at 
a glance through the shams by which he was sur- 
rounded, and to pursue his own aims with single- 
ness of heart and directness of purpose. He had 
sprung from the ranks of the people, and he was 
never false to them. He was a simple, unaffected, 
kind-hearted man ; anxious to do his duty to the 
whole country ; domestic in his tastes and habits ; 
and incorruptible in every relation of life. He 
was fond of humor, and overflowed with it; find- 
ing in his u little stories " the only relaxation he 
ever sought from the heavy cares of the trying 
position upon which he was now entering. He 
selected his cabinet from the leading men of the 
Republican party, and placed William II. Seward, 
of New York, as Secretary of State ; Salmon P. 
Chase, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury ; Simon 
Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War; 
Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, Secretary of the 
Navy; Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, Secretary of the 



172 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Interior; Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, Posfc 
master-General; and Edward Bates, of Missouri, 
Attorney-General. 

The Great Civil War was the all-important 
event of Mr. Lincoln's administration. 

In 1864 the next Presidential election was held. 
The Republican National Convention met at Bal- 
timore, June 7, and adopted a platform declaring 
war upon slavery, and demanding that no terms 
but unconditional surrender should be given to the 
rebellious States. It nominated Abraham Lincoln, 
of Illinois, for President, and Andrew Johnson, of 
Tennessee, for Vice-President. 

The latter was a United States Senator when 
his State allied itself to the Confederacy. He, 
however, continued to hold his seat, and was the 
only Senator from any of the States, who did so 
after the withdrawal of their States from the 
Federal Union. 

The Democratic Convention met at Chicago Au- 
gust 29, and nominated for the Presidency General 
George B. McClellan, of the Federal army, and for 
the Vice-Presidency, George H. Pendleton, of 
Ohio. The result was Messrs. Lincoln and John- 
son carried the electoral votes of every State ex- 
cept three, to wit: New Jersey, Delaware, and 
Kentucky; of the popular vote the Democratic 
ticket received 1,802,237, against 2,213,665 cast 
for Lincoln and Johnson. 

Abraham Lincoln having been duly elected wa& 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 173 

Inaugurated for his second term on the 4th of 
March, 1865. On the night of April 14th, Presi 
dent Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre 
in Washington City, by John Wilkes Booth. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON, 
15th of April, 1865— 4th of March, 1869. 

Upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, Andrew John- 
son, the Vice-President, by the terms of the Con- 
stitution, became President of the United States. 
He took the oath of office on the 15th of \pril, 
and at once entered upon the discharge I his 
duties. His first act was to retain all the mem- 
bers of the Cabinet appointed by Mr. Lincoln. 

Mr. Johnson was a native of North Carolina, 
having been born in Raleigh, on the 29th of De- 
cember, 1808. At the age often he was bound as 
an apprentice to a tailor of that city. He was at 
this time unable to read or write. Some years 
later, being determined to acquire an education, 
he learned the alphabet from a fellow-workman, 
and a friend taught him spelling. He was sooh 
able to read, and pursued his studies steadily 
working ten or twelve hours a day at his trade, 
and studying two or three more. In 1826 he re- 
moved to Greenville, Tennessee. He was subse- 
quently chosen alderman of his town, and with 
this election entered upon his political career. 
Studying law he abandoned tailoring, and devoted 
himself to legal pursuits and politics. He was 




ANDREW JOHNSON. 



174 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 175 

successively chosen Mayor, Member of the Legisla- 
ture, Presidential elector, and State Senator. He 
was twice elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
three times a Senator of the United States from 
that State. Upon the secession of Tennessee from 
the Union, he refused to relinquish his seat in the 
Senate, and remained faithful to the cause of the 
Union throughout the war, winning considerable 
reputation during the struggle by his services in 
behalf of the national cause. He was an earnest, 
honest-hearted man, who sincerely desired to do 
his duty to the country. His mistakes were due 
to his temperament, and proceeded from no desir« 
to serve his own interests or those of any party 
In his public life he was incorruptible. A man of 
ardent nature, strong convictions, and indomitable 
will, it was not possible that he should avoid 
errors, or fail to stir up a warm and determined 
opposition to his policy. 

The first duty devolving upon the new adminis- 
tration was the disbanding of the array, which at 
the close of the war numbered over a million of 
men. It was prophesied by foreign nations and 
feared by many persons at home, that the sudden 
return of such a large body of men to the pursuits . 
of civil life would be attended with serious evils, 
but both the Union and the Confederate soldiers 
went back quietly and readily to their old avoca- 
tions. Thus did these citizen-soldiers give to the 
world a splendid exhibition of the triumph of law 



176 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

and order in a free country, and a proof of the 
stability of our institutions. 

The restoration of the Southern States to their 
places in the Union was the most important work 
of Mr. Johnson's administration. 

In the fall of 1868 another Presidential election 
was held. The Republican party nominated Gen- 
eral Ulysses S. Grant for the Presidency, and 
Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, for the Vice-Presi- 
dency. The Democratic party nominated Horatio 
Seymour, of New York, for the Presidency, and 
Frank P. Blair, of Missouri, for the Vice-Presi- 
dency. The election resulted in the choice of 
General Grant by a popular vote of 2,985,031 to 
2,648,830 votes cast for Mr. Seymour. In the 
electoral college Grant received 217 votes and 
Seymour 77. The States of Virginia, Mississippi 
and Texas were not allowed to take part in this 
election, being still out of the Union. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. 

GRANT. 

4th of March, 1869— 4th of March, 1877. 
Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth President of 
the United States, was inaugurated at Washington 
with imposing ceremonies on the 4th of March, 
1869. He was born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, on 
the 27th of April, 1822. His father was a tanner, 
and wished him to follow his trade, but the boy 
had more ambitious hopes, and at the age of seven- 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



177 



teen a friend secured for him an appointment as 
a cadet at West Point, where he was educated. 
Upon graduating he entered the army. Two 
years later he was sent to Mexico, and served 
through the war with that country with distino- 




ULYSSES f (J KANT. 



tion. He was specially noticed by his comman- 
ders, and was promoted for gallant conduct. Soon 
after the close of the war he resigned his commis- 
sion, and remained in civil life and obscurity until 
the breaking out of the civil war, when he volun- 

M 



178 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

teered his services, and was commissioned by 
Governor Yates Colonel of the Twenty-first Iili< 
nois regiment. He was soon made a Brigadier- 
General, and fought his first battle at Belmont. 
His subsequent career has been related in all his- 
tories of the Great Civil War. He selected the 
members of his Cabinet more because of his per- 
sonal friendship for them than for their weight 
and influence in the party that had elected him. 

General Grant was the fifth President whose 
military achievements had contributed more to his 
election to this high office than any services ren~ 
dered in the civil departments of the government. 
His inaugural, delivered before an immense crowd 
of enthusiastic admirers, on the east portico of the 
capitol, was brief and pointed. He was no orator, 
and his address on this occasion was rehearsed 
from a manuscript before him. It might be char- 
acterized as a good specimen of the " multurn in 
parvo" He said "he should have no policy of his 
own, except to carry out the will of the people, as 
expressed by the legislative department, and ex. 
pounded by the judiciary. Laws," said he, "are 
to govern all alike, those opposed, as well as those 
who favor them. I know of no method to secure 
the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as 
their stringent execution." The oath of office was 
administered bv Chief-Justice Chase. 

His cabinet consisted at first of Elihu B. Wash- 
burne, of Illinois, Secretary of State ; Alexander 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 179 

T. Stewart, of New York, Secretary of the 
Treasury ; John D. Rawlins, of Illinois, who had 
been his chief of staff from the beginning of the 
great war until its termination, Secretary of War; 
Adolph E. Borie, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of 
the Navy ; Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio, Secretary of 
the Interior ; John A. J. Cresswell, of Maryland, 
Postmaster-General; and Ebenezer R. Hoar, of 
Massachusetts, Attorney-General. 

Several changes in the cabinet were afterwards 
made, the most notable of which were George S[ 
Boutwell, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the 
Treasury, instead of Alexander T. Stewart, the 
famous merchant of New York. Soon after the 
confirmation of the latter by the Senate, it was 
ascertained that he was ineligible under the law, 
because of his being engaged in commerce. Mr. 
Washburne also gave up his place to accept the 
position of Minister to France, and the vacant 
Secretaryship of the State Department was given 
to Hamilton Fish of New York. 

The President on the 20th of March, 1870, issued 
a proclamation announcing that the Fifteenth 
Amendment had been duly ratified by a sufficient 
number of States, and therefore declared it to be 
part of the Constitution of the United States. 

In the fall of 1872, another presidential election 
occurred. The canvass was marked by the most 
intense partisan bitterness. The Republican party 
renominated General Grant for the presidency, and 



180 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

supported Henry Wilson for the vice-presidency 
The measures of the administration had arrayed a 
large number of Republicans against it. These 
now organized themselves as the Liberal Republican 
party, and nominated Horace Greeley of New York 
for the presidency, and B. Gratz Brown of Missouri 
for the vice-presidency. The Democratic party 
made no nominations, and its convention indorsed 
the candidates of the Liberal Republican party. 
The election resulted in the triumph of the 
Republican candidates by overwhelming majorities. 
The elections were scarcely over when the 
country was saddened by the death of Horace 
Greeley. He had been one of the founders of the 
Republican party, and had been closely identified 
with the political history of the country for over 
thirty years. He was the "Founder of the New 
York Tribune;' and had done good service with his 
journal in behalf of the cause he believed *o be 
founded in right. He was a man of simple and 
childlike character, utterly unaffected, and generous 
to a fault. In his manner and dress he was eccen- 
tric, but nature had made him a true gentleman at 
heart. His intellectual ability was conceded by all 
His experience in public life and his natural dis- 
position induced him to favor a policy of concilia- 
tion in the settlement of the reconstruction ques- 
tion, and, influenced by these convictions, he signed 
the bail-bond of Jefferson Davis and secured the 
release of the fallen leader of the South from his 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 181 

imprisonment. This act cost him a large part of 
his popularity in the North. He accepted the 
presidential nomination of the Liberal party in the 
belief that his election would aid in bringing about 
a better state of feeling between the North and the 
South. He was attacked by his political opponents 
with a bitterness which caused him much suffering, 
and many of his old friends deserted him and 
joined in the warfare upon him. Just before the 
close of the canvass, his wife, to whom he was 
tenderly attached, died, and his grief for her and 
the excitement caused by the political contest 
broke him down and unsettled his mind. He was 
conveyed by his friends to a private asylum, where 
he died on the 29th of November, 1872, in the 
sixty-second year of his age. The result of the 
election by States was 286 electoral votes for Grant, 
for President, 286 for Wilson, for Vice-President, 
and 47 for B. Gratz Brown, for Vice-President. 

Mr. Greeley having died soon after the election, 
and before the meeting of the Electoral Colleges, 
the electoral votes that he carried at the popular 
election (only 65) were cast in the colleges for a 
number of persons whose names had never been 
connected with f he office. 

The votes by States for Grant were Alabama, 
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, 
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Mississippi, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ne- 
vada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New 



182 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia, Vir- 
ginia, Vermont, Wisconsin — 29. Those casting 
electoral votes against Grant were Maryland, 
Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and 
Texas — 6. The electoral votes of the States of 
Arkansas and Louisiana were not counted- 

On the 4th day of July, 1876, the United States 
of America completed the one hundredth year of 
their existence as an independent nation. The 
day was celebrated with imposing ceremonies an<? 
with the most patriotic enthusiasm in all parts o\. 
the Union. The celebrations began on the night 
of the 3d of July, and were kept up until midnight 
on the 4th. Each of the great cities of the Unio* 
vied with the others in the splendor and complete* 
ness of its rejoicings ; but the most interesting of 
all the celebrations was naturally that which was 
held at Philadelphia, in which city the Declaration 
of Independence was adopted. 

In the summer of 1876 the various political par- 
ties met in their respective conventions to nomi- 
nate candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presi- 
dency of the United States, which officers were to 
be chosen at the general election in November. 
The Republican Convention assembled at Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, on the 14th of June, and resulted in 
the nomination of Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, 
of Ohio, for President of the United States, and 
of William A. Wheeler, of New York, for Vice- 



* 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 183 

President, The Democratic Convention was held 
at St. Louis on the 27th of June, and nominated 
Governor Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, for the 
Presidency, and Governor Thomas A. Hendricks, of 
Indiana, for the Vice-Presidency. A third Conven- 
tion, representing the Independent Greenback party, 
met at Indianapolis on the 18th of May, and norni* 
nated Peter Cooper, of New York, for President, 
and Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio, for Vice-President. 

The campaign which followed these nominations 
was one of intense bitterness, and was in many 
respects the most remarkable the country has ;vef 
witnessed. 

The election was held on the 7th of November. 
The popular vote was as follows : 

For Samuel J. Tilden ., 4,284,265 

" Rutherford B, Hayes 4,033,295 

" Peter Cooper 81,737 

Tilden thus received a popular majority of 
250,970 votes over Hayes, and a majority of 169,* 
233 votes over both Hayes and Cooper. 

Both sides claimed the success of their tickets. 
In several of the States there were two returns. 
Three hundred and sixty-nine was the aggregate 
number of votes of the electoral college. It re- 
quired 185 to elect. The advocates of Tilden and 
Hendricks maintained that by right they were en- 
titled to the electoral votes of South Carolina. 
Florida, and Louisiana, which would give them an 



184 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

aggregate of 203 votes ; but that if the votes of 
these three States, amounting to 19, were given to 
Hayes and Wheeler, Tilden and Hendricks would 
still have 184 undisputed votes, and that they were 
clearly entitled to one vote from Oregon, which 
would give them 185 — the requisite majority. 
Meantime the Republican leaders maintained that 
upon a right eonnt of the vote of the four States 
in dispute Hayes and Wheeler had the majority. 
Leading Republicans in Congress maintained that 
the presiding officer of the Senate had a right to 
count the votes as sent up from the several States, 
and to decide questions of dispute between differ- 
ent returning boards. The Democrats proposed 
that the matter should be settled and adjusted 
under the previously existing joint rule of the two 
Houses on the subject of counting the ekctorai 
votes. This the Republicans refused to do. The 
condition of affairs was assuming a threatening 
aspect, when a proposition was made to provide by 
law for a Joint High Commission to whom the 
whole subject should be referred. This was to 
consist of five members of the House, five of the 
Senate, and five of the Supreme Court. The five 
Judges of the Supreme Court were Clifford, Miller, 
Field, Strong, and Bradley; tie Senators were 
Edmunds, Morton, Frelinghuysen, Bayard, and 
Thurman ; the members of the House were Payne, 
Hunton, Abbott, Garfield, and Hoar. 

To the commission thus constituted, the who!* 
subject was referred by special act of Congress. 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 185 

The two Houses of Congress met in joint con- 
vention on the 1st of February, 1877, and began 
the counting of the electoral vote. When the 
vote of Florida was reached, three certificates were 
presented and were referred to the Electoral Com- 
mission. This body, upon hearing the arguments 
of the counsel of the Democratic and Republican 
parties, decided that it had no power to go behind 
the action of the Return Board, and that the cer 
tificate of that body giving the vote of that State 
to Hayes must be accepted by the two Houses of 
Congress The vote by which this decision was 
reached stood eight (all Republicans) in favor of 
it, and seven (all Democrats) against it. A similar 
cot elusion was come to in the case of Louisiana. 
Objections were made to the reception of the vote? 
of Oregon and South Carolina. In the Oregon 
case the decision was unanimously in favor of 
counting the votes of the Hayes electors. In the 
South Carolina case the commission decided that 
the Democratic electors were not lawfully chosen ; 
but on the motion to give the State to Hayes the 
vote stood 8 yeas to 7 nays. So South Carolina 
was counted for Hayes. Objection was made on 
the ground of ineligibility to certain electors from 
Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
Vermont, and Wisconsin, but the objections were 
not sustained by the two Houses. 

This Commission made its final report oo all the 
cases submitted to them, on the 2d day of March, 



186 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

and according to their decision, Hayes and Wheeler 
received 185 votes, and Tilden and Hendricks 184 
votes. The States that voted for Hayes and 
Wheeler were California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, 
Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New 
Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Pennsyl- 
vania, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin; 
&nd those which voted for Tilden and Hendricks 
were Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, 
Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, 
Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

General Grant, on the expiration of his second 
term, retired from office, but remained in Wash- 
ington City, receiving marked demonstrations of 
the admiration of his friends for some months, 
before starting upon an extensive travel through 
Europe and around the world. 

ADMINISTRATION OF RUTHERFORD R 

HAYES. 

4th of March, 1877— 4th of March, 1881. 

Rutherford B. Hayes, the nineteenth President of 
the United States, was inaugurated at Washington 
on Monday, March 5th, 1877. As the 4th of 
March fell on Sunday, the President-elect simply 
took the oath of office on that day. The inaugural 
ceremonies were carried out on the 5th at the 




BUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



1*7 



188 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

capitol with the usual pomp and parade, and tti 
the presence of an enormous multitude of citizens 
and visiting military organizations from all parts 
of the country. After the customary reception by 
the Senate, the new President was escorted to the 
eastern portico of the capitol, where he delivered 
his inaugural address to the assembled multitude, 
after which the oath of office was publicly adminis- 
tered to him by Chief-Justice Waite. 

The new President was a native of Ohio, having 
been born at Delaware, in that State, on the 4th 
of October, 1822. He graduated at Kenyon Col- 
lege, Ohio, and obtained his professional education 
at the law school, Cambridge, Mass. He began the 
practice of law at Cincinnati in 1856. Soon aftet 
the opening of the war he enlisted in the Twenty- 
third Ohio Volunteers, with which regiment he 
served as major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel 
He led his regiment, which formed a part of 
General Reno's division, at the battle of South 
Mountain, in September, 1862, and was severely 
wounded in the arm in that engagement. In th* 
fall of 1862 he was made colonel of the regiment, 
and in 1864 was promoted to the rank of brigadier* 
general of volunteers, and was brevetted major- 
general, "for gallant and distinguished services 
during the campaigns of 1864 in West Virginia, 
and particularly in the battles of Fisher's Hill and 
Cedar Creek." At the time of this last promotion 
tie was in command of a division. He serre4 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 189 

until the close of the war, receiving four wounds 
and having five horses shot under him during his 
military career. In the fall of 1864 he was elected 
to Congress, and was returned a second time in 
1866. In 1867, before the expiration of his Con- 
gressional term, he was elected Governor of Ohio, 
and was re-elected to that office in 1869, being 
each time the candidate of the Republican party. 
In 1870 General Hayes was again elected to Con- 
gress, and in 1874 was nominated for a third term 
as Governor of Ohio. His opponent was Governor 
William Allen, one of the most popular of the 
Democratic leaders of Ohio. General Hayes was 
elected by a handsome majority. He resigned tins 
office in March, 1877, to enter upon his new dutie* 
as President of the United States. 

President Hayes selected as his cabinet William 
M. Evarts, of New York, Secretary of State; 
John Sherman, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury ; 
George W. McCrary, of Iowa, Secretary of War; 
Richard W. Thompson, of Indiana, Secretary of 
the Navy ; Carl Schurz, of Missouri, Secretary of 
the Interior ; David M. Key, of Tennessee, Post* 
master-General ; and Charles E. Devens, of Massa- 
chusetts, Attorney-General. The cabinet was of a 
composite character and generally regarded as a very 
conservative one. Mr. Hayes, early in his admin- 
istration, adopted several reforms in the civil service, 
one of which was not to allow Federal office- 
holders to take active part in elections. 



190 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Few Presidents were ever so embarrassed upon 
entering on the duties of the office as he was. At 
this time the States of South Carolina and Lou- 
isiana were in a quasi civil war. Two Governors 
in each were claiming to be entitled to the execu- 
tive chair. Two legislatures in each were also 
claiming to be rightfully entitled to the law-making 
power. 

Mr. Ha^ es displayed the most consummate skill 
in the conduct and settlement of these most em- 
barrassing questions. In the summer of 1880 the 
various political parties of the country met in Con- 
vention to nominate candidates for the Presidency 
and Vice-Presidency of the United States. The 
Republican Convention met in Chicago on the 2d 
of June, and nominated James A. Garfield, of Ohio, 
for President, and Chester A. Arthur, of New 
York, for Vice-President. (The platform and all 
the ballots of this convention will be found in 
another part of this work.) The Democratic Con- 
vention met in Cincinnati, on the 22d of June, and 
nominated Winfield Scott Hancock, of Pennsyl- 
vania, for President, and William H. English, of 
Indiana, for Vice-President. The Greenback Con- 
vention met at Chicago, on the 9th of June, and 
nominated James B. Weaver, of Iowa, for Presi- 
dent, and B. J. Chambers, of Texas, for Vice- 
President. 

The election was held on the 2d of November, 
%nd resulted in the choice of General James A. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 191 

Garfield, who received 214 electoral votes to 155 
electoral votes cast for General Hancock. 

The States that voted for Garfield and Arthur 
were: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, 
Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ver* 
mont, Wisconsin ; and those that voted for Han- 
cock and English were : Alabama, Arkansas, Del- 
aware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New 
Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, 
Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. 

The State of California was divided. She cast 
one vote for Garfield and Arthur, and five for 
Hancock and English. 

The last days of Mr. Hayes' administration were 
the happiest he spent in the White House. At 
the close of his term, he retired to his residence at 
Fremont, Ohio, followed by the good will of mil* 
lions of his fellow-citizens. 

ADMINISTRATION OF GARFIELD. 

4th of March, 1881— 19th of September, 1881. 

On Friday, March 4th, 1881, the inauguration 
ceremonies took place upon a scale of unusual mag- 
nificence, and were participated in by numerous 
military and civic organizations, and by thousands 
of citizens from all parts of the country. After the 



192 PACTS ABOUT ALL OUT?. PRESIDENTS. 

new Vice-President had taken the oath of office s 
President-elect Garfield was formally received by 
the Senate, and escorted to the eastern portico of 
the capitol, where, in the presence of an immense 
multitude of citizens and soldiery, he delivered 




JAMES A. GARFIELD. 

an *ble and eloquent inaugural address, and took 
the oath of office at the hands of Chief-Justice 

Waite. 

The new President had been long and favorably 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. ^93 

known to his countrymen. He was in his fiftieth 
year, and in vigorous health. A man of command- 
ing presence, he was dignified and courteous in his 
demeanor, accessible to the humblest citizen, and 
deservedly popular with men of all parties. Born 
ft poor boy, without influential friends, he had by 
his own efforts secured a thorough collegiate edu- 
cation, and had carefully fitted himself for the 
arduous duties he was now called upon to dis- 
charge. Entering the army at the outbreak of the 
civil war, he had won a brilliant reputation as a 
soldier, and been promoted to the rank of Major- 
General of volunteers. Elected to Congress from 
Ohio, in 1862, he had entered the House of Repre- 
sentatives in December, 1863, and had seen almost 
eighteen years of constant service in that body, in 
which he had long ranked as one of the most bril- 
liant and trusted leaders of the Republican party. 
Early in 1880 be had been chosen a United States 
Senator from Ohio, but had been prevented from 
taking his seat in the Senate by his election to the 
Presidency. Immediately after his inauguration 
the names of the new cabinet were sent to the 
Senate, and were confirmed without opposition. 
James G. Blaine, of Maine, was Secretary of State ; 
William Windom, of Minnesota, was Secretary of 
the Treasury ; Robert T. Lincoln, of Illinois, son of 
ex-President Abraham Lincoln, was Secretary of 
War; William H. Hunt, of Louisiana, was Secretary 
of the Navy ; Samuel J. Kirk wood, of Iowa, was Sec- 

N 



194 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

retary of the Interior ; Thomas L. James, of New 
York, was Postmaster-General, and Wayne Mc- 
Veagh, of Pennsylvania, was Attorney-General. 

The Cabinet was regarded, generally, as one 
very judiciously selected, being all men of marked 
ability, though of somewhat different shades of 
opinion in the Republican party. 

As the time wore on, President Garfield gained 
steadily in the esteem of his countrymen. His 
purpose to give to the nation a fair and just ad- 
ministration of the government was every day 
more apparent, and his high and noble qualities 
became more conspicuous. Men began to feel for 
the first time in many years that the Executive 
chair was occupied by a President capable of con- 
ceiving a pure and noble standard of duty, and 
possessed of the firmness and strength of will 
necessary to carry it into execution. The country 
was prosperous, and there was every reason to ex- 
pect a continuance of the general happiness. 

On the morning of July 2d, President Garfield, 
accompanied by a distinguished party, including 
several members of the Cabinet, preceeded to the 
Baltimore and Potomac depot, in Washington, to 
take the cars for Long Branch. The President 
arrived in company with Secretary Blaine. They 
left the President's carriage together, and walked 
arm-in-arm into the depot. In passing through 
the ladies' waiting-room, the President was fired at 
twice by a man named Charles J. Guiteau. Th© 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 195 

first shot inflicted a slight wound in the President's 
right arm, and the second a terrible wound in the 
right side of his back, between the hip and the 
kidney. The President fell heavily to the floor, 
9-nd the assassin was secured as he was seeking to 
make his escape from the building. 

The whole city was thrown into the greatest 
consternation and agitation when swift-winged 
rumor bore the news through every street and 
avenue, that the President had been assassinated ! 
The wires carried the same consternation through- 
out the length and breadth of the Union, as well 
as to foreign nations. 

In the meantime, the suffering President re- 
ceived every attention that could be given. He 
was borne as soon as possible to the Executive 
mansion, where many eminent surgeons of the 
country were soon summoned to his bedside ; but 
no permanent relief was given. The ball was not 
found, and he continued to suffer and languish for 
weeks. His physicians thought it best to remove 
him to Long Branch. Suitable and comfortable ar- 
rangements were made for his travel from the 
White House to Francklyn Cottage, at Elberon, at 
that place, and his journey was successfully per- 
formed on the 6th of September. 

Here he continued to languish, with intervals of 
hopeful improvement until he suddenly grew worse 
on the 18th, and finally expired quietly at 10.35 
T. M., on the 19th of September. 



196 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

His remains were taken to Washington and lay 
in state in the rotunda of the capitol, after which 
they were conveyed to Cleveland, Ohio, and there 
interred with the most solemn and impressive cer- 
emonies. Never before was there such universal 
and unfeigned sorrow over the death of any public 
official. 

On the night of the death of the President at 
Elberon, the members of the Cabinet present joined 
in sending the following telegram to Mr. Arthur, 
the Vice-President, who was at that time in the 
city of New York : 

" It becomes our painful duty to inform you of 
the death of President Garfield, and to advise you 
to take the oath of office without delay." 

Mr. Arthur, as advised by Mr. Garfield's Cabi- 
net, immediately took the oath of office before 
Judge Brady, one of the Justices of the Supreme 
Court of the State of New York. 

On the 22d of September President Arthur again 
took the oath of office, this time at the hands of 
the Chief-Justice of the United States, and was 
quietly inaugurated in the Vice-President's room, 
in the Capitol at Washington, delivering upon this 
occasion a brief inaugural address. 

President Arthur entered quietly upon the duties 
of his administration, and his first acts were sat- 
isfactory to a majority of his countrymen. As he 
had been the leader of " the Stalwart " section of 
the Republican party, it was felt by the mem- 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



197 



bers of the Cabinet of the late President that he 
should be free to choose his own advisers. There- 
fore, immediately upon his accession to the Execu- 
tive chair, Mr. Blaine and his colleagues tendered 




CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



him their resignations. They were requested, 
however, by the new President to retain their 
offices until he could find suitable successors to 



198 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

them. To this they agreed, but before the year 
was out several important changes had been made 
in the Cabinet. The principal of these were the sub- 
stitution o£ Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, of New 
Jersey, for Mr. Blaine, as Secretary of State, and 
the appointment of Judge Charles J, Folger, of 
Ohio, to the Treasury Department. 

One of the first acts of the new administration 
was to cause the indictment of Charles J. Guiteau 
for the murder of President Garfield. After some 
delay the trial of the assassin began on the 14th 
of November. It ended on the 25th of January, 
1882, in the conviction of Guiteau for the murder 
af the late President. 

The execution took place in the District jail on 
the 30th of June, 1882, and was witnessed bv 
about 200 people, many of whom were represen- 
tatives of the press. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
GROVER CLEVELAND 

March 4th, 1885— March 4th, 1889 

The twenty-second President of the United 
States was Grover Cleveland. Mr. Cleveland was 
a native of New Jersey, and was born in Caldwell, 
Essex Co., March 18, 1837. He came from sturdy 
New England stock, many of his ancestors having 
held honorable positions in their respective locali- 
ty Some of them were ministers, of which 




PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND. 



1\)\) 



200 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

number was President Cleveland's father* The 
training in the family was such as to make the 
boys, of whom there were several, upright, self- 
reliant, acquainted with public affairs, and quali- 
fied for useful life. 

President Cleveland, after teaching two or three 
years, studied law in Buffalo, was admitted to the 
bar, became sheriff of the county, and, having re- 
ceived the nomination for Governor of New York, 
was elected by a large majority. This was fol- 
lowed by his nomination in the Democratic Con- 
vention of 1884 and his election in the following 
November. 

With very imposing ceremonies Mr. Cleveland 
was inaugurated at Washington on the 4th of 
March, 1885. His inaugural address was a clear, 
manly and forcible presentation of the duties be- 
longing to his high office, with some suggestions 
concerning the vital questions of the hour. 

President Cleveland's administration was char- 
acterized by a conservative policy, a desire to pu- 
rify official life, a bold and vigorous dealing with 
the tariff question, and a careful guarding of the 
public treasury. At the close of the third year of 
his administration the Democratic party naturally 
looked to him to be their standard-bearer during 
the ensuing campaign. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
BENJAMIN HARRISON 

March 4th, 1889— March 4th, 1893 

Benjamin Harrison was born at North Bend, 
Ohio, August 2oth, 1833. John Scott Harrison, 




. .'-V.v.V.'? 



BENJAMIN HARRISON. 



father of Benjamin, served as a Governor of the 
Northwestern Territory, and in this position as 

201 



202 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

well as in that of member of Congress, rendered 
good service. He was a farmer by occupation, 
and entered public life only at the call of his 
constituents. His illustrious son graduated at 
Miami University, Ohio, in 1851, and on October 
20th, 1853, married Miss Caroline Lavinia Scott, 

of Oxford, Ohio. 

Mr. Harrison was inaugurated March 4th, 1889. 
His administration was such as to inspire con- 
ridence in his ability, honesty of purpose, and 
statesmanlike wisdom. With James G. Blaine for 
Secretary of State, matters at issue between our 
Government and Great Britain and Italy were 
handled in a conservative manner, and at the 
same time in a way so positive that no charge 
of weakness or unpatriotic hesitation could be 
brought against him. 

Mr. Harrison approved the tariff legislation, 
which had for its object protection to American 
industries. He took decided ground in the dispute 
with England concerning the Bering Sea fisheries. 
He approved the legislation upon the Chinese 
question, and was an ardent advocate of reciprocity 
with the Kepublics of South America. 

On public occasions he showed the same felicity 
of speech which characterized him during the 
campaign preceding his election, and his course 
during his term of office was such as to enhance 
his popularity and gather to his support the 
substantial, controlling elements of his party. 



SECOND ADMINISTRATION OF 
GROVER CLEVELAND 

March 4th, 1893— March 4th, 1897 

In November, 1892, Mr. Cleveland was elected 
by a large majority, and was inaugurated on the 
4th of March, 1893. There was the usual large 
gathering at Washington of people from all parts 
of the country, who were drawn together by the 
imposing ceremonies of the occasion. 

The capital was in gay attire ; there was a fine 
military display; the streets through which the 
procession passed were lined with crowds of spec- 
tators, and among the Democrats there was a jubi- 
lant feeling and expressions of congratulation upon 
the return of Mr. Cleveland to the White House. 

He entered upon the duties of his office at a 
time when there was much discussion concerning 
public questions, especially the tariff and the free 
coinage of silver. A low protective tariff had 
been the chief issue of the preceding campaign, 
and it was understood that such legislation would 
be adopted as would change the McKinley bill 
and admit various kinds of imports from other 
countries at lower rates. 

One of the main features of Mr. Cleveland's 
second administration was the enactment of the 
Wilson tariff bill, which produced a marked effect 
upon the revenues of the Government. So great 
was the falling off in the treasury receipts that 
upwards of $250,000,000 in bonds were issued, 
wU ^h found a ready market, thus relieving the 

203 



204 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUK PKESIDENTS. 

emergency and providing money for current ex- 
penditures. 

Mr. Cleveland's administration was also charac- 
terized by a vigorous foreign policy. This was not 
so evident in the early periods of it as subsequently, 
when he protested against the encroachments of 
Great Britain upon territory which the Republic 
of Venezuela, in South America, claimed as her 
own by lawful right. Much discussion followed 
his message upon this subject, and there were 
angry mutterings of war in both England and 
America. This folly was speedily suppressed by 
the uprising of a strong sentiment in both nations 
in favor of peace and the settlement of all inter- 
national questions by a court of arbitration. 

Next came the Cuban question, the party of 
freedom in that island having risen again in an 
insurrection which was very formidable and prom- 
ised to be successful. There were multitudes of 
sympathizers with struggling Cuba throughout the 
country, and their sentiment was vigorously ex- 
pressed by the members of Congress. Resolutions 
were passed by both houses granting the rights of 
belligerents to the Cuban insurgents, but these 
resolutions were not signed by Mr. Cleveland and 
consequently failed of their intended effect. The 
action of Congress produced a profound impression 
in Spain, mobs assembled at various points, and 
bitter insults were offered to the American flag. 
Happily a peaceful policy prevailed, 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
WILLIAM McKINLEY 

March 4th, 1897— March 4th, 1901 

In the election of November, 1896, Mr. Mc- 
Kinley received 7,101,401 of the popular vote ; 
Mr. Bryan, 6,470,656 ; Mr. Palmer, 132,056, and 
Mr. Levering, candidate of the Prohibition party, 
130,560. Of the Electoral College, Mr. Mc- 
Kinley received 271 votes, and Mr. Bryan 176. 

On the 4th of March, 1897, Mr. McKinley was 
inaugurated President with imposing ceremonies, 
and Mr. Hobart was inducted into the office of 
Vice-President. A multitude of people from all 
parts of the country assembled in Washington, 
and nothing occurred to mar the success of the 
inauguration. Mr. McKinley entered upon the 
duties of his office with the best wishes, not onlv of 
his party, but of all classes of his fellow-country- 
men. 

Mr. McKinley immediately called an extra 
session of Congress, which assembled on March 
15, for the express purpose of revising the tariff, 
providing a revenue sufficient for the wants of the 
Government, and placing the finances of the 
nation upon a sound basis. Hon. Thomas B. 
Keed, of Maine, was reelected Speaker of the 
House. 

An insurrection which broke out in Cuba in 
February, 1895, led to the landing of a large 
Spanish army on the island and an attempt to 
suppress the uprising. In February, 1898, the 
United States battleship Maine was sent on a 

205 



206 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

friendly mission to the harbor of Havana, and on 
the 15th of this month was destroyed by a 
mysterious explosion, resulting in the death of 
266 sailors and marines who were on board. The 
public mind was greatly excited by this event, and 




WILLIAM McKINLEY 

it is universally conceded that it had much to 
do with precipitating the war between the United 
States and Spain which followed. 

On April 18 both Houses of Congress united in 
passing a series of resolutions calling for the 
intervention of the United States to compel Spain 
to withdraw her forces from Cuba, and thus permit 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 207 

the authorities at Washington to provide the 
island with a free and independent government. 
The demand contained in the resolutions was sent 
to the Spanish Minister at Washington on April 
20, who at once called for his passports and left for 
Canada. 

In the war that followed the Spanish fleets at 
Manila and Santiago were destroyed and in 
several land battles the Spaniards were defeated, 
resulting in peace between the two countries, 
December, 1898. 

At the extra session of Congress called by Mr. 
McKinley, already referred to, changes were made 
in the tariff whereby greater protection was 
afforded to some of our most important industries, 
and immediately the country entered upon a career 
of unexampled prosperity. The doors of capital 
were unlocked, large investments were made, new 
business enterprises were set on foot, and multi- 
tudes of people who had been unemployed were 
afforded opportunity for work, and the distress 
which had rested like a pall upon the country 
gradually gave way, and it was universally con- 
ceded that never, probably, had all kinds of 
business been so prosperous throughout the country. 
On every side the busy hum of industry was 
heard, and even during the period when we were 
engaged in war with Spain nearly all kinds of 
business were brisk, the farmers' crops were good 
and money was plentiful. 



208 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Aside from the conduct of the war with Spain 
and the war with the Filipino insurgents that 
followed, the principal measure affecting the 
welfare of the country during Mr. McKinley's 
administration was the enactment of a currency 
bill in which the gold standard was established 
by law. This important measure passed both 
Houses of Congress and was promptly signed by 
the President. 

The public acts of President McKinley met 
with the hearty approval of the Republican party 
and he was enthusiastically sustained by its 
leaders. His statesmanship was of the highest 
order ; his honesty of purpose was manifest ; his 
popularity with the people was almost phenomenal, 
and amidst almost unexampled difficulties sur- 
rounding the administration of our national 
affairs, he proved himself to be a master whose 
guiding hand upon the helm of the Ship of State 
gave confidence to the people at large. 



Appendix A. 

WHAT IT COSTS THE PRESIDENT TO LIVE 

The official salary of the President is fixed 
by law at fifty thousand dollars per annum, 
or two hundred thousand dollars for his term 
of four years. At the beginning of each 
term Congress makes an appropriation for 
refurnishing the Executive Mansion. The 
kitchen and pantry are supplied to a consid- 
erable extent by the same body. Congress 
pays all the employees about the house, from 
the private secretary to the humblest boot- 
black; it provides fuel and lights; keeps up 
the stables; and furnishes a corps of gar- 
deners and a garden to supply the Presiden- 
tial board with fruits, flowers, and vegetablea 
Many persons suppose that these allowance? 
ought to be enough to enable him to livf 
comfortably. They are mistaken, however, 
The President is required by public opinion 
to live in a style consistent with the dignity 
of his position and the honor of the country, 
and such a mode of life imposes upon him 
many very heavy expenses. Besides this, 
he is expected to be liberal and charitable 
towards persons and meritorious causes seek- 
ing his aid, and " their name is legion." He 
cannot give as a private individual; his do- 
nation must be large. The expense of en- 
tertaining the various officers of the Govern- 
ment, members of Congress, and Foreign 

O 209 



210 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Ministers, is enormous. One hundred thou 
sand dollars per annum would not be too 
much to allow him. 

THE PRESIDENTS VISITORS. 

Access to the President may be easily had 
by any person having legitimate business 
with him, or wishing to pay his respects to 
the Chief Magistrate of the Union, but, as 
His Excellency's time is valuable and much 
occupied, interviews are limited to the short- 
est possible duration. Visitors, upon such 
occasions, repair to the reception-room ad- 
joining the President's private office, send 
in their cards, and await His Excellency's 

pleasure. 

Besides granting these private interviews, 
rtie President holds public receptions or 
levees at stated times during the sessions of 

Congress. 

His official title is "Mr. President," but 
courtesy has added that of "His Excellency." 
It is worthy of remark that none of the Ex- 
ecutive officers of the States of the Union 
except the Governor of Massachusetts, have 
any legal claim to the titles "His Excel- 
lency" and "Tour Excellency." 

All sorts of people come to see the Presi- 
dent, on all sorts of business. His immense 
patronage makes him the object of the 
efforts of many unprincipled men. His in- 



TBuri WHITE HOUSE. 211 

tegrity is subjected to the severest trials 
and if he come out of office poor, as happily 
all of our Presidents have done, he must in- 
deed be an honest man. His position is not 
a bed of roses, for he cannot hope to please 
all parties. His friends exaggerate his good 
qualities, and often make him appear ridicu- 
lous, while his enemies magnify his faults 
and errors, and slander and persecute him 
in every imaginable way. Pitfalls are set 
for him along every step of his path, and he 
must be wary indeed if he would not fal/ 
into them. The late President Buchanan 
once said that there were at least two per- 
sons in the world who could not echo the 
wish experienced by each American mother, 
that her son might one day be President, 
and that they were the retiring and the in- 
coming Presidents, the first of whom was 
worn and weary with the burden he wa> lay- 
ing down, and the other for the first time 
fully alive to the magnitude of the task he 
had undertaken. 

CABINET MEETINGS. 

The Cabinet Ministers in our Government 
are the Secretaries placed at the heads of 
the various Departments. They are the 
constitutional advisers of the President, but 
he is not obliged to be governed by their 
advice. It is customary, however, to l^y 



212 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

important matters before them for their 
opinions thereupon, which are submitted in 
writing at the request of the President, and 
for this purpose regular meetings of the 
Cabinet are held at stated times in a room 
in the Executive Mansion, provided lor that 
purpose. It is located on the second floor of 
the mansion, and is plainly but comfortably 

furnished. 

The relations existing between the Presi- 
dent and his Cabinet are, or ought to be, of 
the most friendly and confidential nature. 
They are well seUbrth in the attitude main- 
tained upon this point by Mr. Lincoln. Says 
Mr. Raymond, his biographer: "He always 
maintained that the proper duty of each 
Secretary was to direct the details of every- 
thing done within his own Department, and 
to tender such suggestions, information, and 
advice to the President as he might solicit 
at his hands. But the duty and responsi- 
bility of deciding what line of policy should 
be pursued, or what steps should be taken 
in any specific case, in his judgment, be- 
longed exclusively to the President; and he 
was always willing and ready to assume it. 

THE WHITE HOUSE. 

The Executive Mansion is situated on 
Pennsylvania Avenue, near the western end 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 213 

of the city, and is surrounded by the Treas- 
ury, State, War, and Navy Departments. 
The grounds in front are handsomely orna- 
mented, and in the rear a fine park stretches 
away to the rivet; The location is attractive, 
and commands a magnificent view of the 
Potomac, but it is not healthy. Ague and 
fever prevails in the Spring and Fall, and 
renders it anything but a desirable place of 
residence. The building is constructed of 
freestone painted white — hence its most 
common name, the "White House." It was 
designed by James Hoban, and was modeled 
after the palace of the duke of Leinster. 
The corner-stone was laid on the 13th of 
October, 1792, and the house was ready for 
occupancy in the Summer of 1800. It was 
partially destroyed by the British in 1814. 
It has a front of one hundred and seventy 
feet, and a depth of eighty-six feet. It con- 
tains two lofty stories of rooms, and the roof 
is surrounded with a handsome balustrade. 
The exterior walls are ornamented with fine 
Ionic pilasters. On the north front is a 
handsome portico, with four Ionic columns 
in front, and a projecting screen with three 
columns. The space between these two rows 
of pillars is a covered carriage way. The 
main entrance to the house is from this por- 
tico through a massive doorway, which opens 
mto the main hall. The garden front has a 



214 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

rusticated basement, which gives a third 
story to the house on this side, and by a 
semi-circular projecting colonnade of six 
columns, with two flights of steps, leading 
from the ground to the level of the principa) 
story. 

THE INTERIOR OP THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Entering by the main door, the visitor 
finds himself in a handsome hall, divided 
midway by a row of imitation marble pil- 
lars, and ornamented with portraits of former 
Presidents. Passing to the left, you enter 
the magnificent banqueting hall, or, as it is 
commonly called, 



THE EAST ROOM, 

which occupies the entire eastern side of the 
house. It is a beautiful apartment, and is 
handsomely furnished. It is used during 
the levees and upon great State occasions. 
The President sometimes receives here the 
congratulations and respects of his fellow- 
citizens, and is subjected to the torture oi 
having his hand squeezed out of shape by 
his enthusiastic friends. It's a great pity 
that some one of our Chief Magistrates has 
not the moral courage to put a stop to this 
ridiculous practice of hand-shaking. The 
East Room is eighty-six feet long, forty feet 
wide, and twenty-eight feet high. It has four 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 215 

fire-places, and is not an easy room to warm 
Adjoining the East Room are three others, 
smaller in size, the whole constituting one o\ 
the handsomest suites in the country. The 
first, adjoining the East Room, is the Grreen 
Room, the ne\t the Blue Room, and the 
third the Red Room. Each is handsomely 
furnished, the prevailing color of the apart- 
ment giving the name. 

THE RED ROOM 

is elliptical in foiin having a bow in rear 
and is one of the handsomest in the house. 
It is used by the President as a general re- 
ception-room. He receives here the official 
visits of the dignitaries of the Republic, and 
of foreign ministers. Previous to the com- 
pletion of the East Room, this apartment 
was used for all occasions of public cere 
mony. 

The building contains thirty-one rooms ol 
considerable size. West of the Red Room is 
the large dining-room used upon State occa- 
sions, and adjoining that is the small dining- 
room ordinarily used by the President and 
his family. The stairs to the upper story are 
on the left of the main entrance, and are 
always in charge of the door-keeper and 
his assistants, whose business it is to see 
that no improper characters find access to 
the private portion of the house. 



216 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

The north front has six rooms, which are 
used as chambers by the family of the Presi- 
dent, and the south front has seven rooms— 
the ante-chamber, audience-room, cabinet- 
room, private office of the President, the 
ladies' parlor, and two others, used for vari- 
ous purposes. 

THE LADIES' PARLOR 

is situated immediately over the Eed Room, 
and is of the same size and shape. It is 
for the private use of the ladies of the Pres- 
ident's family, and is the handsomest and 
most tastefully furnished apartment in the 

house. 

There are eleven rooms in the basement, 
which are used as kitchens, pantries, but- 
ler's room, &c. The house is built in the 
old style, and has an air of elegance and 
comfort extremely pleasing to the eye. 

FIRST MISTRESS OF THE WHITE HOUSK. 

Mrs. John Adams came to Washington 
with her husband in November, 1800, and 
at once took possession of the Executive 
Mansion. Her impressions of it are thus 
described by herself in a letter to her 
daughter, written soon after her arrival. 

She says : 

"The house is upon a grand and superb 
&&le requiring about thirty servants to 



THE WHITE HOUSE, 217 

attend and keep the apartments in propel 
order, and perform the ordinary business of 
the house and stables — an establishment 
very well proportioned to the President's 
salary. The lighting the apartments, from 
the kitchen to parlors and chambers, is a 
tax indeed, and the fires we are obliged t) 
keep to secure us from daily agues is an- 
other very cheering comfort. To assist us 
in this great castle, and render less attend- 
ance necessary, bells are wholly wanting, 
not one single one being hung through the 
whole house, and promises are all you can 
obtain. This is so great an inconvenience, 
that I know not what to do or how to do. 
The ladies from Georgetown and in the 
city have many of them visited me. Yes- 
terday I returned fifteen visits. But such 
a place as Georgetown appears ! Why, our 
Milton is beautiful. But no comparisons, 
if they put me up bells, and let me have 
wood enough to keep fires, I design to be 
pleased. But, surrounded with forests, can 
you believe that wood is not to be had, be- 
cause people cannot be found to cut and 
cart it? . . . We have indeed, come into 
a new country. 

"The house is made habitable, but there 
is not a single apartment finished, and all 
within-side, except the plastering, has been 
done since B. came. We have not the least 



218 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

fence, yard, or convenience without^ and the 
great unfinished audience-room I make a 
drying-room of, to hang up the clothes in. 
... If the twelve years, in which this 
place has been considered as the future seat 
of government, had been improved, as they 
would have been in New England, very 
many of the present inconveniences would 
have been removed. It is a beautiful spot, 
capable of any improvement, and the more 
I view it, the more I am deligh^d with it." 

OLD TIMES AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Mr. Cooper thus describes a dinner at the 
White House, to which he was invited, 
during its occupancy by Mr. Monroe : 

" On this occasion, we were honored with 
the presence of Mrs. Monroe, and two or 
three of her female relatives. Crossing the 
hall, we were admitted to a drawing-room, 
in which most of the company were already 
assembled. The hour was six. By far the 
greater part of the guests were men, and 
perhaps two-thirds were members of Con- 
gress. . . . There was very great gravity 
of mien in most of the company, and neither 
any very marked exhibition, nor any posi- 
tively striking want of grace of manner. 
The conversation was commonplace, and a 
little sombre, though two or three men of the 
world got around the ladies, where the bat- 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 219 

:le of words was maintained with sufficient 
spirit. ... To me the entertainment had 
ratner a cold than a formal air. When dinner 
was announced, the oldest Senator present 
(there were two, and seniority of service is 
meant) took Mrs. Monroe, and led her to 
the table. The rest of the party followed 
without much order. The President took a 
lady, as usual, and preceded the rest of the 
guests. 

"The drawing-room was an apartment of 
good size, and of just proportions. It might 
have been about as large as the better sort 
2>f Paris salon in a private hotel. It was 
burnished in a mixed style, partly English 
and partly French. ... It was neat, 
sufficiently rich, without being at all mag- 
nificent, and, on the whole, was very much 
like a similar apartment in the house of a 
man of rank and fortune in Europe. The 
diniug-room was in a better taste than is 
common here, being quite simple, and but 
little furnished. The table was large and 
rather handsome. The service was in china, 
as is uniformly the case, plate being ex- 
ceedingly rare, if at all used. There was, 
however, a rich plateau, and a great abun- 
dance of the smaller articles of table-plate. 
The cloth, napkins, (fee, &c, were fine and 
beautiful. 

"The dinner was served in the French 



220 THB WHITE HOUSE. 

style, a little Americanized. The dishes 
were handed round, though some of the 
guests, appearing to prefer their own cus 
tonis, coolly helped themselves to what they 
found at hand. Of attendants there were a 
good many. They were neatly dressed, out 
of livery, and sufficient. To conclude, the 
whole entertainment might have passed for 
a better sort of European dinner-party, at 
which the guests were too numerous for 
general or very agreeable discourse, and 
some of them too new to be entirely at their 
ease. Mrs. Monroe arose, at the end of the 
dessert, and withdrew, attended by two or 
three of the most gallant of the company. 
No sooner was his wife's back turned, than 
the President reseated himself, inviting his 
guests to imitate the action. After allowing 
his guests sufficient time to renew, in a few 
glasses, the recollections of similar enjoy - 
ments of their own, he arose himself, giving 
the hint to his company, that it was time to 
rejoin the ladies. In the drawing-room, 
coffee was served, and everybody left the 
house before nine. 7 ' 

AN OLD-TIME LEVEE. 

"On the succeeding Wednesday Mrs 
Monroe opened her doors to all the world. 
No invitation was necessary, it being the 
usage for the wife of the President to receivr 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 221 

company once a fortnight during the session, 
without distinction of persons. 

•'We reached the White House at nine. 
The court (or rather the grounds) was filled 
with carriages, and the company was arriv- 
ing in great numbers. On this occasion two 
or three additional drawing-rooms were 
opened, though the frugality of Congress has 
prevented them from finishing the principal 
reception-room of the building. I will ac- 
knowledge the same sort of surprise I felt at 
the Castle Garden fete, at finding the assem- 
blage so respectable in air, diess and de- 
portment. 

"The evening at the White House, or 
drawing-room, as it is sometimes pleasantly 
called, is, in fact, a collection of all classes 
of people, who choose to go to the trouble 
and expense of appearing in dresses suited 
to an ordinary evening party. I am not sure 
that even dress is much regarded ; for I cer- 
tainly saw a good many there in boots. The 
females were all neatly and properly attired, 
though few were ornamented with jewelry. 
Of course, the poor and laboring classes of 
the community would find little or no pleas- 
ure in such a scene. They consequently stay 
away. The infamous, if known, would not 
be admitted; for it is a peculiar consequence 
of the high tone of morals in this country, 
that grave and notorious offenders rarely 



222 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

presume to violate the public feeling by in- 
vading society.* 

" Squeezing through the crowd, we achieved 
a passage to a part of the room where Mrs. 
Monroe w T as standing, surrounded by a bevy 
of female friends. After making our bow 
here, we sought the President. The latter 
had posted himself at the top of the room, 
where he remained most of the evening, 
shaking hands with all who approached. 
Near him stood all the Secretaries and a 
great number of the most distinguished men 
of the nation. Individuals of importance 
from all parts of the Union were also here, 
and were employed in the manner usual to 
such roenes. 

"Besides these, one meets here a greaL 
variety of people in other conditions of life. 
I have known a cartman to leave his b 3rse 
in the street, and go into the reception-room 
to shake hands with the President. He 
offended the good taste of all present, be- 
cause it was not thought decent that a 
laborer should come in a dirty dress on such 
an occasion ; but while he made a trifling 
mistake in this particular, he proved how 
well he understood the difference between 
government and society. He knew the levee 
was a sort of homage paid to political equal- 
ity in the person of the first magistrate, but 

* This was over sixty years ago.— Author. 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 223 

he would not have presumed to enter the 
house of the same person as a private indi- 
vidual, without being invited, or without a 
reasonable excuse in the way of business. 

" There are, no doubt, individuals who mis- 
take the character of these assemblies, but 
the great majority do not. They are a sim- 
ple, periodical acknowledgment that there is 
uo legal barrier to the advancement of any 
one to the first association in the Union. 
You perceive, there are no masters of cere- 
monies, no ushers, no announcings, nor, in- 
deed, any let or hindrance to the ingress of 
all who please to corae ; and yet how few, in 
comparison to the whole number who might 
enter, do actually appear. If there is any 
man in Washington so dull as to suppose 
equality means a right to thrust himself into 
any company he pleases, it is probable he 
satisfies himself by boasting that he can go 
to the White House once a fortnight, as well 
as a governor or anybody else. 7 ' 

ETIQUETTE. 

The social observances of the White House 
are prescribed with the utmost exactness. 
At the commencement of Washington's ad- 
ministration, the question of how to regulate 
such matters was discussed with great earn- 
estness. It Avas agreed that the exclusive 
rules by which European court* were qtov- 



224 THE WHITE HOOSE. 

erned would not entirely suit the new Re- 
public, as there were no titled personages in 
America, and as the society of our country 
was organized on a professed basis of equal- 
ity, Washington caused the following arti- 
cles to be drawn up : 

" In order to bring the members of society 
together in the first instance, the custom of 
the country has established that residents 
shall pay the first visit to strangers, and, 
among strangers, first comers to later comers, 
foreign and domestic ; the character of stran- 
ger ceasing after the first visit. To this rule 
there is a single exception. Foreign minis- 
ters, from the necessity of making them- 
selves known, pay the first visit to the 

[cabinet] ministers of the nation, which is 

returned. 

" When brought together in society, all are 

perfectly equal, whether foreign or domestic, 

titled or untitled, in or out of office. 

"All other observances are but exempli- 

Ications of these two principles. 

"The families of foreign ministers, arriving 

%t the seat of government, receive the first 

visit from those of the national ministers, as 

from all other residents. 

"Members of the legislature and of the 

judiciary, independent of their offices, have 

a right, as strangers, to receive the first 

visit. 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



225 



"No title being admitted here, those of 
foreigners give no precedence. 

"Differences of grade among the diplo- 
matic members give no precedence. 

" At public ceremonies to which the gov- 
ernment invites the presence of foreign min- 
isters and their families, a convenient seat 
or station will be provided for them, with 
any other strangers invited, and the families 
of the national ministers, each taking place 
as they arrive, and without any precedence. 

" To maintain the principle of equality, or 
of pele mcle, and prevent the growth of pre 
cedence out of courtesy, the members of the 
executive will practise at their own houses 
and recommend an adherence to the ancieo' 
usage of the country, of gentlemen in mass 
giving precedence to the ladies in mass, in 
passing from one apartment where they are 
assembled into another. " 

These rules were too arbitrary and exact- 
ing to give satisfaction, and society was not 
disposed to acknowledge so genuine an 
equality amongst its members. For some 
years, disputes and quarrels were frequent 
and bitter. In the wir^r of 1819, John 
Quincy Adams, then So iry of State, ad- 
dressed a letter to Daniei D. Tompkins, the 
Vice-President, stating that he had been 
informed that the members of the Senate 
had agreed amongst themselves to pav no 



226 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

hrst visits to any person except the Pies* 
ident of the United States. He declared 
that he repudiated the claim on the part o* 
the Senators, and that he would pay no first 
calls himself as being due from him or his 
family. Mr. Adams was severely criticised 
for his aristocratic view r s, and the contro- 
versy went on as warmly as before. The 
result, a few years later, was, that all 
parties interested agreed upon a code, which 
is now in force, and which may be stated as 
follows, as fai as the White House is con- 
cerned : 

THE CODE. 

The title of the Executive is Mr. Pres- 
ident. It is not proper to address him in 
conversation as Your Excellency. 

The President receives calls upon matters 
of business at any hour, if he is unengaged. 
He prefers that such visits should be made 
in the morning. Stated times are appointed 
for receiving persons who wish to pay their 
respects to him. One morning and one 
evening in each week are usually set apart 
for this purpose. 

During the winter season, a public recep- 
tion, or levee, is held once a week, at which 
guests are expected to appear in full dress. 
They are presented by the Usher on such 
occasions, and have the honor of shaking 



£HE WHITE HOUSE. 227 

hands with the President, These receptions 
last from eight until ten o'clock. 

On the 1st of January of each year, the 
President holds a public reception, at which 
the Foreign Ministers present in the city 
appear in full court dress, and the officers 
of the Army and Navy in full uniform. The 
Heads of Departments, Governors of States, 
and Members of Congress are received first, 
then the Diplomatic Corps, then the officers 
of the Arm)' and Navy, and then the doors 
are thrown open to the public generally for 
the space of two hours. 

The President, as such, must not be in- 
vited to dinner by any one, and accepts no 
such invitations, and pays no calls or visits 
of ceremony. He may visit in his private 
capacity, however, at pleasure. 

An invitation to dine at the White House 
takes precedence of all others, and a pre 
vious engagement must not be pleaded as 
an excuse for declining it. Such an invita- 
tion must be promptly accepted in writing. 

THE PRESIDENT'S RECEPTIONS. 

The levees held by the President differ in 
nothing from those of Mr. Monroe's time, 
described a few pages back, except that the 
East Room is now finished, and the whole 
magnificent suite of apartments is used. 
The elite of the land are present, but the 



228 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

infamous are also there in the persons of 
those who live by plundering the public 
treasury. 

The President stands in one of the smaller 
parlors, generally in the Red or Blue Room. 
He is surrounded by his Cabinet, and the 
most distinguished men in the land. Near 
him stands his wife, daughter, or some 
irelative representing the mistress of the 
mansion. Visitors enter from the hall, and 
are presented to the President by the Usher, 
who first asks their names, residences, and 
avocations. The President shakes each one 
by the hand cordially, utters a few pleasant 
words in reply to the greeting of his guest, 
and the visitor passes on into the next room, 
to make way for those behind him. Before 
doing so, however, he is presented to the 
lady of the house, to whom he pays his re- 
spects also. This regular routine goes on 
for the space of two hours, when it is 
brought to an end, the President devoutly 
thanking Heaven that it does not last all 
night. 

These levees are no doubt very interesting 
to the guests, but they are the bugbears of 
the Presment and his family. The former is 
obliged by custom to shake hands with 
every man presented to him, and when the 
levee is over, his right hand is often bruised 
and swollen. It is said that some of the 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 229 

Presidents have suffered severely from this 
species of torture, and that General Har- 
rison's death was to some degree hastened 
by it. 

President Arthur being a widower, and 
having no grown-up daughter, his sister, 
Mrs. McElroy, acted as lady of the White 
House, and her amiable way of making 
everybody at home, even at the receptions 
of the Diplomatic Corps and distinguished 
foreigners, will be gratefully remembered 
by all who have been honored by an invi- 
tation. 

The semi-annual receptions of the Pres- 
ident — New Tear's Day and the Fourth of 
July — are brilliant affairs. At a little before 
eleven o'clock in the morning, the ap- 
proaches to the Executive Mansion are 
thronged with the spendid equipages of the 
various Cabinet officers and Foreign Minis- 
ters. The entrance at such times is by the 
main door, and the exit through one of the 
large north windows of the East Room, in 
front of which a temporary platform is 
erected. The customs upon such occasions 
vary slightly with each administration. In 
the description given here, the order ob- 
served at the reception of the President, 
January 1, 1884, is followed. 

The East Room and the other parlors arc 
handsomely decorated with flowers and 



230 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

other ornaments, the full Marine Bai/i is 
in attendance to furnish music for the 
promenaders in the East Eoom, and a 
strong police force is present to preserve 
order when the people are admitted en 
masse. 

At a few minutes before eleven o'clock, 
the President and the ladies of the Whit* 
House, in full dress, take their places in 
the Blue Room, the President standing neai 
the door leading into the Eed Room, and 
the ladies in the centre of the Blue Room. 
The President is attended by either the 
Commissioner of Public Buildings, or the 
Marshal of the District of Columbia, whose 
duty it is to present the guests to him. A 
gentleman is also appointed to attend the 
ladies for the purpose of presenting the 
guests to them. 

Precisely at eleven o'clock the doors are 
thrown open, and the reception begins. The 
Cabinet Ministers and their families are ad 
mitted first, and after they have passed on 
into the East Room, through the Green Par- 
lor, the Secretary of State remains and pre- 
sents the Foreign Ministers and their fami- 
lies. They are followed by the Justices of 
the Supreme Court and their families. Then 
come the Senators and Representatives in 
Congress and their families. The next in 
order are the officers of the Army, then the 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



231 






officers of the Navy and Marine Corps, in 
full uniform, and then the officials of the 
District of Columbia. These personages 
generally occupy the first hour. The doors 
are then opened to the public, and the next 
two hours are devoted to receiving them. 
Several thousand persons are presented 
during this period. They say a few pleas- 
ant words to the President, receive a brief 
reply, and pass on. 

The promenaders in tlie East Room often 
linger in that apartment during the whole 
reception. The scene is brilliant, the toi- 
lettes are magnificent, the uniforms and court 
dresses attractive, and the music fine. At a 
little after two o'clock the parlors are de- 
serted, and the gay throng has sought other 
attractions. 

Besides these public levees, the ladies of 
the White House hold receptions at stated 
periods, to which invitations are regularly 
issued. The President sometimes appears 
upon these occasions, but is under no obli- 
gation to do so. 

During the first two years of the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Lincoln, he always selected a 
lady to join the promenade with him at his 
evening receptions, thus leaving his wife free 
to choose an escort from the distinguished 
throng which always surrounded her on such 
Wttasionr. This custom did not please Mrs 



232 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Lincoln, who resolved to put a stop to it 
She declared the practice absurd. "On such 
occasions," said she, "our guests recognize 
the position of the President as first of all ; 
consequently he takes the lead in every- 
thing ; well, now, if they recognize his posi- 
tion, they should also recognize mine. I am 
his wife, and should lead with him. And 
yet he offers his arm to any other lady in the 
room, making her first with him, and placing 
me second. The custom is an absurd one, 
and I mean to abolish it. The dignity that 
I owe to my position, as Mrs. President, de- 
mands that I should not hesitate any longer 
to act." 

The spirited lady kept her word. Ever 
after this, she either led the promenade witi 
the President, or that dignitary walked alone 
or in company with some gentleman. 

It has long been the custom for the Presi- 
dent to give a series of State dinners during 
the session of Congress, to which the various 
members of that body, the higher Govern- 
ment officials, and the Diplomatic Corps are 
invited. In order to be able to entertain 
each one of these celebrities it is necessary 
to give about two dinners per week. The 
custom was not much observed during Mr. 
Lincoln's administration, though it has been 
revived by his successor. 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



233 



IMPERTINENT GOSSIP. 

The President and his famil) are much 
annoyed by the impertinent curiosity of 
which they are the objects. There are ^cores 
of persons in Washington, some of whom Are 
doubtless well-meaning people, who are so 
ignorant of the common decencies of society, 
as to seek to lay bare before the public every 
incident of the private life of the family at 
the White House. The whole city rings with 
gossip upon this topic, much of which finds 
its way into the columns of the newspaper 
press in various parts of the land, to the 
great annoyance of its victims. There are 
people who can tell you how the President 
gets out of bed in the morning, how he 
dresses, breakfasts, picks his teeth, what he 
talks about in the privacy of his family, and 
a thousand and one other such private de- 
tails, until you turn from your informant 
with the most intense disgust. It is said 
that much of this comes from the servants 
employed in the Executive Mansion, who 
seem to think it adds to their importance to 
retail such scandal. Every year this goes 
on, and every new occupant of the Wt;ite 
House is subjected to such peise',utioi>. 



Appendix B. 

FiGtfKES are said to be dry, but figures some- 
times have a large meaning. They are the skele- 
ton, and no body would be good for much without 
the skeleton. It is all a question of figures as to 
whether a man is a millionaire or a pauper, whether 
he is elected to the highest office in the gift of the 
people or suffers inglorious defeat. Figures are 
mighty ; they tell thrilling tales ; they rule the 
world. 

The next morning after an exciting election 
every one wishes to know what figures have to say. 
The following pages will be no less interesting as 
records of history. You will find it profitable to 
study the contests of party and the results of the 
great campaigns as expressed in these tables. They 
present the cold, hard facts ; they have the force 
that alwavs £oes with statistics. The reader will 
see that the two great political parties are very 
evenly matched ; neither has an overwhelming 
advantage over the other in the popular vote. 

235 



236 



POPULAit VOTE FOR PRESIDENT, 



I860. 



\_ 



State* 

Alabama, 

Arkansas, 

California, 

Colorado, 

Connecticut, 

Delaware, 

Florida, 

Georgia, 

Illinois, 

Indiana, 

Iowa, 

Kansas, 

Kentucky, 

Louisiana, 

Maine, 

Maryland, 

Massachusetts, 

Michigan, 

Minnesota, 

Mississippi, 

Missouri, 

Nebraska, 

Nevada, 

New Hampshire, 

New Jersey, 

New York, 

North Carolina,. 

Ohio, 

Oregon, 

Pennsylvania, 

Rhode Island, 

South Carolina, 

Tennessee, 

Texas, 

Vermont, 

Virginia, 

West Virginia, 

Wisconsin, 

Totals, 



Lincoln. 


Douglas, 


Breckinridge, 


Bell, 


R. 


D. 


D. 


U. 




13651 


48831 


27875 


•*••«• 


5227 


23732 


20094 


39173 


38516 


34334 


6817 


43792 


15522 


14641 


3291 


3815 


1023 


7337 


3864 




367 


8543 


5437 




11590 


51889 


42886 


172161 


160215 


2404 


4913 


139033 


115509 


12295 


5306 


70409 


55111 


1048 


1763 


1364 


• ■ • • • a 

25651 


53143 


66058 




7625 


22681 


20204 


62811 


26693 


6368 


2046 


2294 


5966 


42482 


41760 


106533 


34372 


5939 


22331 


88480 


65057 


805 


405 


22069 


11920 


748 


62 




3283 


40797 


2504ft 


17028 


58081 


31317 


58372 




5801 




• • • • • e 


37519 


22811 


2212 


441 


58324 


62500 






362646 


312731 










48539 


44990 


231610 


18822 


11403 


12194 


5270 


3951 


5006 


183 


268030 


16765 


178871 


12776 


12244 


7707 




•••> • 


Electors chosen by 


Legislature. 






11350 


64709 


69274 






47548 


15438 


33808 


6849 


218 


1969 


1929 


16290 


74323 


74681 



86110 



65021 



888 



161 



1866452 1375157 847953 590631 



fOPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT, 



23' 



1864 

f * , t 

Lincoln, McClellan, Grant, 

Safe*. R. D. R. 

Alabama, 76366 

Arkansas, 22152 

California, 62134 43841 54592 

Colorado, 

Connecticut, 44691 42285 50996 

Delaware, 8155 8767 7623 
Florida, 

Georgia, 57134 

Illinois, 189996 158730 256293 

Indiana, 150422 130233 176552 

Iowa, 89075 40596 120399 

Kansas, 16441 3691 31047 

Kentucky, 27786 64301 3^569 

Louisiana, 33263 

Maine, 6814 46992 70426 

Maryland, 40153 32739 30438 

Massachusetts, 126742 4874C 136477 

Michigan, 91521 74604 128550 

Minnesota, 21060 17375 43542 

Mississippi, 

Missouri, 72750 31678 85671 

Nebraska, 9729 

Nevada, 9826 6594 6480 

New Hampshire, 36400 32871 38191 

New Jersey, 60723 68024 80121 

New York, 368732 361986 410883 

North Carolina, 96226 

Ohio, 265154 205568 280128 

Oregon, 9888 8457 10961 

Pennsylvania, 296391 276316 342280 

Rhode Island, 14349 8718 12903 

South Carolina, 62301 

Tennessee, 56757 

T pxfj s 

Vermont, 42419 13321 44167 

firginia, 

West Virginia, 23152 10438 29025 

Wisconsin, 83458 65884 108857 



1368. 



Seymour, 
D. 

72086 
10078 
54078 



47951 

10980 

102822 

199143 

166980 

74040 

14019 

115889 

80225 

42396 

62357 

59408 

97009 

28072 



59788 

5439 

52 IS 

31224 

83001 

429883 

84090 

237800 

11125 

313382 

6548 

45237 

26311 



12045 



20306 
84710 



Totals, 



2223035 811754 3013188 27Q360C 



2.38 POPULAR YOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 

*1876. tl&80. 

Hayes, Tilden Garfield Hancock Weaver, Dow, 

States. R. D- R - D - p- P * 

Akbania, 68,708 102,989 56,221 91,185 4,642 

Arkansas, 38,669 58,071 42,436 60,775 4,079 

California, 79,279 76,468 80,348 80.426 3,392 

Colorado By Legislature. 27,450 24,647 1,435 

Connecticut, 59,034 61,934 67,071 64,415 868 40» 

Delaware, 10,752 13,381 14,133 15,275 120 

Florida 23,849 22,927 23,654 27,964 ..... 

Georgia 50.446 130,088 54,086 102,470 969 ...... 

Illinois ' 278^22 258,601 318,037 277,321 26,358 , 443 

Indiana, 208,011213,526 232,164 225,522 12,986 

Iowa 171,326 112,121 183,927 105,845 32,701 592 

Kansas 78,322 37,902 121,549 59,801 19,851 25 

Kentucky 97,156 159,696 106,306 149,068 11,499 258 

Louisiana,' 75,315 70,508 38,637 65,067 439 ...... 

Maine 66,300 49,917 74,039 65,171 4,408 93 

Maryland, 71,981 91,780 78,515 93,706 818 

Massachusetts 150,063 108,777 165,205 111,960 4,548 682 

Michigan, 166,534 141,095 185,341 131,597 34,895 942 

Minnesota, 72,962 48,799 93,903 53,315 3,267 286 

Mississippi, 52,605 112,173 34,854 75,750 5,797 

Missouri, 145,029 203,077 153,567 208,609 35,135 

Nebraska, 31,916 17,554 54,979 28,523 3,950 

Nevada, 10,383 9,308 8,732 9,613 ■ 

New Hampshire 41,539 38,509 44,852 40,794 528 180 

New Jersey, 103,517 115,962 120,555 122,565 2,617 191 

New York, 489,207 521,949 555,544 534,511 12,373 1,517 

North Carolina, 108,417 125,427 115,874 124,208 1,126 

Ohio 330,698 323,182 375,048 340,821 6,456 2,616 

Oregon, 15,206 14,149 20,619 19,948 249 ...... 

Pennsylvania, 384,184 366,204 444,704 407,428 20,668 1,939 

Rhode Island, 15,787 10,712 18,195 10,779 236 20 

South Carolina, 91,870 90,896 58,071112,312 566 ...... 

Tennessee, 89,566 133,166 107,677 128,191 5,917 43 

Texas '44,803 104,803 57,893 156,428 27,405 ...... 

Vermont, 44,428 20,350 45,567 18,316 1,215 

Virginia, 95,558 139,670 84,020 128,586 

West Virginia, 42,046 56,495 46,243 57,391 9,079 

Wisconsin, 130,070 123,926 144,400 114,649 7,986 69 

Total, 4,033,768 4,285,992 4,454,416 4,444,952 308,578 10,305 

Maj. over all, 145, 91 1_ J 9 ,464 

*T876^Greenback, 81,737; Prohibition, 9,522; American, 539 ; inaper^ 
feet and scattering, 14,715. 1 1880— Greenback, 308,578; Prohibition, 

10,305 ; American, 707 ; imperfect and scattering, 989. t Plurality. A^ 
over Garfield, 311,115. 



• • o O Q 6 

• • • ■ • O 
■ ■ • • O •■ 



POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 


Cjf)tJ 






*1884 


• 






Blaine, 


Cleveland, 


Butler, 


St. John, 


states. 


R. 


D. 


G. 


P. 


Alabama, 


59,591 


93,951 


873 


612 


Arkansas, 


50,895 


72,927 


1,847 




California, 


102,416 


89,288 


2,017 


2,920 


Colorado, 


36,290 


27,723 


1,958 


761 


Connecticut, 


65,923 


67,199 


1,688 


2,305 


Delaware, 


12,951 


16,964 


6 


55 


Florida, 


28,031 


31,766 




72 


Georgia, 


48,603 


94,667 


145 


195 


Illinois, 


337,474 


312,355 


10,910 


12,074 


Indiana, 


238,463 


244,990 


8,293 


3,028 


Iowa, 


197,089 


177,316 




1,472 


Kansas, 


154,406 


90,132 


16,341 


4,495 


Kentucky, 


118,122 


152,961 


1,691 


3,139 


Louisiana, 


46,347 


62,540 


• • • * • 




Maine, 


72,209 


52,140 


3,953 


2,160 


Maryland, 


85,699 


96,932 


531 


2,794 


Massachusetts, 


146,724 


122,481 


24,433 


10,026 


Michigan, 


192,669 


149,835 


£2,243 


18,403 


Minnesota, 


111,923 


70,144 


3,583 


4,684 


Mississippi, 


43,509 


76,510 




• • • • • 


Missouri, 


202,929 


235,988 




2,153 


Nebraska, 


76,912 


54,391 




2,899 


Nevada., 


7,193 


5,578 


26 




New Hampshire, 


43,249 


39,183 


552 


1,571 


New Jersey, 


123,440 


127,798 


3,496 


6,159 


New York, 


562,005 


563,154 


16,994 


25,016 


North Carolina, 


125,068 


142,952 




454 


Ohio, 


400,082 


368,280 


5,179 


11,069 


Oregon, 


26,860 


24,604 


726 


492 


Pennsylvania, 


473,804 


392,785 


16,992 


15,283 


Rhode Island, 


19,030 


12,391 


422 


92$ 


South Carolina, 


21,733 


69,890 






Tennessee, 


124,078 


133,258 


957 


1,131 


Texas, 


93,141 


225,309 


3,321 


3,534 


Vermont, 


39,514 


17,331 


785 


1,752 


Virginia, 


139,356 


145,497 




138 


West Virginia, 


63,096 


67,317 


8JO 


939 


Wisconsin, 


161,157 


146,459 


4,598 
175,370 


7,656 


Total, 


4,851,981 


4,874,986 


150,369 


Plurality, 


23,005 









* 1884 — Blank, defective and scattering, 14,904. In consequence of the 
uncertainties in the count resulting from the "fusions" formed, the plu- 
rality shown for Cleveland must be considered an approximation to the 
actual result not a definite result. All, over Cleveland, 317,038, 



240 



POPULAR VOT2 FOR PRESIDENT. 



1888. 



Cleveland. 
States. Dem. 

Alabama , 117,320 

Arkansas 85,962 

California.. 117,729 

Colorado 37,567 

Connecticut 74,920 

Delaware 16,414 

Florida 39,561 

Georgia 100,499 

Illinois 348,278 

Indiana 261,013 

Iowa 179,887 

Kansas.. 103,744 

Kentucky 183,800 

Louisiana 85,032 

Maine 50,481 

Maryland 106,168 

Massachusetts 151,855 

Michigan 213.459 

Minnesota 104,385 

Mississippi 85,471 

Missouri 261,974 

Nebraska 80,552 

Nevada 5,362 

New Hampshire.. 43,456 

New Jersey.. 151,493 

New York 635,757 

North Carolina.... 147,902 

Ohio... 396,455 

Oregon 26,522 

Pennsylvania 446,633 

Rhode Island 17,530 

South Carolina.... 65,825 

Tennessee 158,779 

Texas 534,883 

Vermont 16,788 

Virginia 151,977 

West Virginia 79,664 

Wisconsin..... 155,232 



Harrison. 

Rep. 

56,197 
58,752 
124,816 
50,774 
74,584 
12,973 
26,657 
40,496 
370,473 
263,361 
211,598 
182,934 
155,134 
30,484 
73,734 
99,986 
183,892 
236,370 
142,492 
30,096 
236,257 
108,425 
7,229 
45,728 
144,344 
648,759 
134,784 
416,054 
33,291 
526,091 
21,968 
13,736 
138,988 
88,422 
45,192 
150,438 
77,791 
176,553 



Fisk. 
Pro. 

583 

641 
5,761 
2,191 
4,234 

400 
423 

1,808 
21,695 
9,881 
3,550 
6,768 
5,225 
16'. 
2,691 
4,767 
8,701 
20,942 
15,311 
218 
4,£39 
9,429 
41 
1,593 
7,904 
30,231 
2,787 
24,356 
1,677 
20,947 
1,250 



Streetet. 
U. Labor. 



5,969 
4,749 
1,460 

1,678 
669 

14,277 



10,613 



1,266 
240 



136 

7,090 

2,694 

9,105 

37,726 

622 

39 

1,344 



4,542 
1,094 

22 

18,632 

4,226 



13 



626 

32 

3,496 

363 

3,873 
18 



48 
29,43i 



1,064 

8,552 



Total 5,540,329 5,439,853 249,506 146,935 

Cleveland's majority on popular vote over Harrison was 
luu,4'<6. Electoral vote ■, Harriso- °33 ; Cleveland, 168. 



POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 



241 



1892. 

Harrison. Cleveland. Bidwell. Weaver. 

a TATir a Rep. Dem. Pro. Peo. 

Alabama 9,197 138,138 239 85,181 

aXEES 46974 87,752 113 11,831 

caiiwa::::..: mfrs 117,908 8,ig7 25,226 

SSicu;':::;:::::::::::::::. W wm <m m 

Delaware 18,077 18,581 564 

Florida 30 > 143 570 4 > 843 

™ a ::::.:: 48,305 129,386 ws 42,939 

Idaho 8,799 219 10,430 

JlUnois 399,288 426,281 25,870 22,207 

lEa 255615 262,740 13,044 22,198 

iowa. ::::::::::: 219,373 196,408 6,322 20,616 

Kansas 157,241 4,553 163,111 

Kentucky, 135,420 175,424 6,385 23,503 

Louisiana 25,332 87,922 1,232 

M™ne ;:;.;.;: 62 878 48,024 3,062 2,045 

Maryland 92,736 113,866 5,877 796 

MaLhuse^: 202,814 176,813 7,539 3 210 

Michigan 222,708 202,296 20,569 19,79? 

Minnesota.*.".:: 122,736 100,579 14,017 30,398 

Mississippi 1,406 40,237 910 10,256 

Missouri.". 226,762 268,628 4,298 41,183 

Montana 18,833 17 534 517 7,259 

Nebraska 87,218 24,943 4,902 83,134 

Nevada 2,822 711 85 7,267 

New Hampshire 45,658 42,081 1,297 293 

New Jersev 156,080 171,066 8,134 985 

New York 609,459 654,908 38,193 16,430 

North Carolina' 100,346 132,951 2,636 44,732 

North Dakota 17,486 ......... 17,650 

Ohio 405,187 404,115 26,012 14,852 

Oregon 35,002 14,243 2,281 26,965 

Pennsylvania 516,011 452,264 25,123 8,714 

Rhode Island 27,069 24,335 1,565 227 

South Carolina 13,384 54,698 2,4 

South Dakota 34,888 9,081 ....... 26,512 

Tennessee 99,973 136,477 4,856 23,622 

Texas 81,444 239,148 2,165 99,638 

Vermont 37,992 16,325 1,424 43 

Virginia 113,256 163,977 2,798 12,274 

Washington.'. 36,470 29,844 2,553 19,105 

West Virginia 80,285 83,484 2,130 4,165 

wSonsh?...... 17<>;761 177,436 13,132 9,909 

Wyoming 8,376 o26 526 

Total 5,186,931 5,553,142 268,361 1,030,128 

Percent 42.93 45.96 2.22 8.52 

Total vote, 12,081 ,316. Cleveland's majority on popular vote over 
Harrison was 366,211. All over Cleveland, 932,278. 

Q 



242 



POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 



1896. 

States. McKinley. Bryan. Palmer. Levering. 

Alabama 54,737 131,219 6,464 2,14? 

Arkansas 37,512 110,103 893 889 

California 146,588 144,166 2,573 

Colorado 26,271 161,269 1,717 

Connecticut 110,297 56,740 4,336 "1,806 

Delaware 20,452 16,615 956 602 

Florida 11,389 32,213 1,778 868 

Georgia 20,191 94,232 2,708 

Idaho 6,324 23,192 181 

Illinois 607,130 466,703 6,390 9,796 

Indiaua 323,719 305,771 2,146 3,056 

Iowa 289,293 223,741 4,519 3,192 

Kansas 158,541 171,810 1,209 2,351 

Kentucky 218,171 217,890 5,114 4,781 

Louisiana ... 22,012 77,096 1,810 

Maine 80,421 34,504 1,864 1,571 

Maryland 136,978 104,745 2,507 5,928 

Ma-sacnusetts 279,976 105,711 11,749 2,998 

Michigan 293,327 237,251 6,930 4,968 

Minnesota 193,501 139,626 3,202 4 34S 

Mississippi 4.730 63,457 1,021 390 

Missouri 304,940 363,652 2,355 3.16S 

Montana 10,490 43,680 

Nebraska 101,064 115,999 2,797 1,196 

Nevada 1,939 8,377 

New Hampshire 57,444 21,650 3,420 776 

New Jersey 221,367 113,675 6,373 5,614 

New York 819,838 551,513 18,972 16,075 

Nor. h Carolina 155,222 174,488 578 635 

North Dakota 26,336 20,689 356 

Ohio 527,945 478,547 1,831 5,060 

Oregon 48,711 46,739 974 789 

Pennsylvania 728,300 427,127 11,000 19,274 

Rhode Island 37,437 14,495 1,166 1,160 

South Carolina........ 9,313 58,101 824 

South Dakota 40,802 40,930 992 

Tennessee 148,773 168,176 1,951 3,093 

Texas 164,886 368,299 5,030 185 

Utah 13,861 67,053 

Vermont 50,991 10,607 1,329 728 

Virginia 135,388 154,985 2,127 2,311 

Washington 39,153 51,646 1,668 968 

West Virginia 104,414 92,927 677 1,203 

Wisconsin 269,135 165,528 4,584 7,509 

Wyoming 10,072 10,855 159 

Total 7,107,980 6,509,056 132,056 127,174 

McKinley 's plurality, 598,924. The vote for Bryan and Sewall 
and that for Bryan and Watson are combined. 



Appendix D. 



THE PRESIDENTS AND THEIR 
CABINETS. 

The Postmaster-General was not recognized as a 
cabinet officer until 1829. Those preceding this 
date are, however, included in the cabinets to show 
when they were appointed. 

First Administration — • Washington, 1 7 89- 1/93. 

President, George Washington, of Virginia; Vicei 
President, John Adams, of Massachusetts; Secre- 
tary of State, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia ; Secre* 
tary of the Treasury, Alex. Hamilton, of New York; 
Secretary of War. Henry Knox, of Massachusetts-, 
Attorney-General, Edmund Randolph, of Virginia; 
Postmaster General, Timothy Pickering of Mass 
achusetts. 

Second Administration — Washingto?i, 1 793- 1 797. 

President, George Washington, of Virginia; Vice* 
President, John Adams, of Massachusetts ; Secre- 
tary of State, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, to 
January, 1794, Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, to 
December, 1795, Timothy Pickering, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander 



244 APPENDIX D. 

Hamilton, of New York, to February, 1795, Olivet 
Wolcott, of Connecticut; Secretary of War, Henry 
Knox, of Massachusetts, to January, 1795, Timothy 
Pickering, of Massachusetts, to January, 1796, 
James McHenry, of Maryland; Attorney-General, 
Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, to January, 1794 ? 
William Bradford, of Pennsylvania, to December, 
1795, Charles Lee, of Virginia; Postmaster-General, 
Joseph Habersham, of Georgia, 

Third Administration — Adams, 1 797- 1 80 1 . 

President, John Adams, of Massachusetts ; Vicev 
President, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; Secretary 
»f State, Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts, to 
May, 1800, John Marshall, of Virginia; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott, of Massachusetts, 
to January, 1801 ; Secretary of War, James Mc- 
Henry, of Maryland, to May, 1800, Roger Gris- 
wold, of Connecticut; Secretary of the Navy, 
George Cabot, of Massachusetts, to March, 1798 A 
Benj. Stoddert, of Maryland; Attorney-General, 
Charles Lee, of Virginia, to February, 1801, Theo 
Parsons, of Massachusetts ; Postmaster-General, 
Gideon Granger, of Connecticut. 

Fourth Administration — Jefferson , 1 80 1 - 1 805 . 

President, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, Aaron Burr, of New York ; Secretary 
of State, James Madison, of Virginia; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania ; 



APPENDIX D. 245 

Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, of Massa- 
chusetts ; Secretary of the Navy, Robert Smith, 
of Maryland ; Attorney-General, Levi Lincoln, of 
Massachusetts. 

Fifth Administration — Jefferson, 1 805-1 809. 

President, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; Vice= 
President, George Clinton, of New York ; Secretary 
of State, James Madison, of Virginia ; Secretary of 
the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania; 
Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, of Massa- 
chusetts ; Secretary of the Navy, Jacob Crownin- 
shield, of Massachusetts ; Attorney-General, Robert 
Smith, of Maryland, to August, 1805, John Breck- 
inridge, of Kentucky, to January, 1807, Caesar A. 
Rodney, of Pennsylvania. 

Sixth Administration — Madison, 1 809- 1 8 1 3. 

President, James Madison, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, George Clinton, of New York ; Secre- 
tary of State, Robert Smith, of Maryland, to April, 
1811, James Monroe, of Virginia; Secretary of the 
Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania ; Secre- 
tary of War, William Eustis, of Massachusetts, to 
January, 1813, John Armstrong, of New York; 
Secretary of the Navy, Paul Hamilton, of South 
Carolina, to January, 1813, William Jones, of 
Pennsylvania ; Attorney-General, Caesar A. Rod- 
ney, of Pennsylvania, to December, 1811, William 
Pinckney, of Maryland. 



246 APPENDIX D. 

Seventh Administration — Madison, 1 813- 1 817. 

President, James Madison, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts ; Secre- 
tary of State, James Monroe, of Virginia ; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, 
to February, 1814, George W. Campbell, of Ten- 
nessee, to October, 1814, Alex. James Dallas, of 
Pennsylvania, to October, 1816, William H. Craw- 
ford, of Georgia; Secretary of War, James Monroe, 
to August, 1815, William H. Crawford, of Georgia; 
Secretary of the Navy, William P. Jones, of Penn- 
sylvania, to December, 1814, B. W. Crowninshield, 
of Massachusetts; Attorney -General, William 
Pinckney, of Maryland, to February, 1814, Richard 
Rush, of Pennsylvania ; Postmaster-General, Return 
J. Meigs, of Ohio. 

Eighth Administration — Monroe, 1 8 1 7- 1 8 2 1 . 

President, James Monroe, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York; 
Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Treasury, William H. 
Crawford, of Georgia; Secretary of War, Isaac 
Shelby, of Kentucky, to April, 1817, George 
Graham, of Virginia, to October, 1817, John C. Cal- 
houn, of South Carolina; Secretary of the Navy, 
B. W. Crowninshield, of Massachusetts, to Novem- 
ber, 1818, Smith Thompson, of New York; Attor- 
ney-General, Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, to 
November, 1817, Wm. Wirt, of Virginia. 



APPENDIX D. 247 

Ninth Administration — Monroe, 1 8 2 1 - 1 8 2 5 . 

President, James Monroe, of Virginia; Vice* 
President, Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York ; 
Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts ; Secretary of the Treasury, William R. 
Crawford, of Georgia ; Secretary of War, John CI 
Calhoun, of South Carolina ; Secretary of the Navy, 
Smith Thompson, of New York, to September, 
1823, Samuel L. Southard, of New Jersey; Attor- 
ney-General, William Wirt, of Virginia; Post- 
master-General, John McLean, of Ohio. 

Tenth Administration — J. Q. Adams, 1 825-1 829. 

President, John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts; 
Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina; 
Secretary of State, Henry Clay, of Kentucky; 
Secretary of the Treasury, Kichard Rush, of Penn- 
sylvania; Secretary of War, James Barbour, of 
Virginia, to May, 1828, Peter B. Porter, of New 
York ; Secretary of the Navy, Samuel L. Southard, 
of New Jersey; Attorney-General, William Wirt, 
of Virginia. 

Eleventh Administration — Jackson , 1 8 2 9- 1 8 3 3 . 
President, Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee ; Vice- 
President, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina; 
Secretary of State, Martin Van Buren, to May, 
1831, Edward Livingston, of Louisiana; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Samuel D. [ngham, of Pennsyl- 
vania, to August, 1831, Louis McLane, of Dela- 



248 APPENDIX D. 

ware ; Secretary of War, John H. Eaton, of Ten- 
nessee, to August, 1831, Lewis Cass, of Ohio; 
Secretary of the Navy, John Branch, of North 
Carolina, to May, 1831, Levi Woodbury, of New 
Hampshire; Attorney-General, John M. Berrien ? 
of Georgia, to July, 1831, Roger B. Taney, of 
Maryland ; Postmaster-General, William T. Barry, 
of Kentucky. 

Twelfth Administration — Jackson, 1 833-1837. 

President, Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee ; Vice* 
President, Martin Tan Buren, of New York ; Sec- 
retary of State, Louis McLane, of Delaware, to 
June, 1834 ; Secretary of the Treasury, William 
J. Duane, of Pennsylvania, to September, 1833, 
Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, to June, 1834, Levi 
Woodbury, of New Hampshire ; Secretary of War, 
Lewis Cass, of Ohio ; Secretary of the Navy, Louis 
Woodbury, of New Hampshire, to June, 1834, 
Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey; Postmaster- 
General, William T. Barry, of Kentucky, to May, 
1835, Amos Kendall, of Kentucky; Attorney- 
General, Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, to Novem- 
ber, 1833, Benjamin F. Butler, of New York. 

Thirteenth Administration — Van Buren, 1 837-1 841. 

President, Martin Van Buren, of New York; 
Vice-President, Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky ; 
Secretary of State, John Forsyth, of Georgia; 
Secretary of the Treasury, Levi Woodbury, of 



APPENDIX D. 



249 



New Hampshire ; Secretary of War, Benjamin F. 
Butler, of New York, to March, 1837, Joel K. 
Poinsett, of South Carolina; Secretary of the 
Navy, Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey, to June, 
1838, James K. Paulding, of New Jersey; Post- 
master-General, Amos Kendall, of Kentucky, to 
May, 1840, John M. Niles, of Connecticut; At- 
torney-General, Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, 
to July, 1838, Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, to 
January, 1840, Henry D. Gilpin, of Pennsylvania. 

Fourteenth Administration — Harrison, Tyler, 1 841-1845. 

President, William Henry Harrison, of Ohio ; 
\f ice- President, John Tyler, of Virginia ; Secretary 
of State, Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, to 
May, 1843, Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina, to 
July, 1843, Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, to March, 
1844, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina; Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, to 
September, 1841, John C. Spencer, of New York, 
to June, 1844, George M. Bibb, of Kentucky; 
Secretary of War, John Bell, of Tennessee, to 
September, 1841, John C. Spencer, of New York, 
to March, 1843, James M. Porter, of Pennsylvania, 
to February, 1844, then William Wilkens, of 
Pennsylvania ; Secretary of the Navy, George E. 
Badger, of North Carolina, to September, 1841, 
Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, to July, 1843, Daniel 
Henshaw, of Massachusetts, to February, 1844, 
Thomas W. Gilmer, of Virginia, to March, 1844, 



250 APPENDIX D. 

then John Y. Mason, of Virginia; Postmaster- 
General, Francis Granger, of New York, to Sep- 
tember, 1841, then Charles A. Wickliffe, of Ken- 
tucky; Attorney-General, John J. Crittenden, of 
Kentucky, to September, 1841, Hugh S. Legare, 
of South Carolina, to July, 1843, then John Nel- 
son, of Maryland. 

Fifteenth Administration — Polk, 1 845-1 849. 

President, James K. Polk, of Tennessee; Vice- 
President, George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania; 
Secretary of State, James Buchanan, of Pennsyl- 
vania; Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. 
Walker, of Mississippi ; Secretary of War, William 
L. Marcy, of New York ; Secretary of the Navy, 
George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, to September, 
1846, then John Y. Mason, of Virginia; Post- 
master-General, Cave Johnson, of Tennessee ; At- 
torney-General, John Y. Mason, of Virginia, to 
October, 1846, Nathan Clifford, of Maine, to June, 
1848, then Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut. 

Sixteenth Administration — Taylor, Fillmore, \ 849- 1853, 

President, Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana; Vice- 
President, Millard Fillmore, of New York ; Secre» 
tary of State, John M. Clayton, of Delaware, to 
July, 1850, Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, to 
December, 1852, then Edward Everett, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Treasury, William M. 
Meredith, to July, 1850, then Thomas Corwin, of 



APPENDIX D. 



251 



Ohio ; Secretary of War, George W. Crawford, of 
Georgia, to July 20, 1850, Edward Bates, of Mis- 
souri, to July 23, 1850, Winfield Scott, of Vir- 
ginia, to August, 1850, then Charles M. Conrad, 
of Louisiana ; Secretary of the Navy, William B. 
Preston, of Virginia, to July, 1850, William A. 
Graham, of North Carolina, to July, 1852, then 
John P. Kennedy, of Maryland ; Secretary of the 
Interior, Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, to July, 1850, 
James A. Pierce, of Maryland, to August, 1850 5 
Thomas M. T. McKennan, of Pennsylvania, to 
September, 1850, then Alexander H. H. Stuart, of 
Virginia ; Postmaster-General, Jacob Collamer, of 
Vermont, to July, 1850, Nathan K. Hall, of New 
fork, to August, 1852, then Samuel D. Hubbard, 
of Connecticut ; Attorney-General, Eeverdy John- 
Bon, of Maryland, to July, 1850, then John J. 
Crittenden, of Kentucky. 

Seventeenth Administration — Pierce, 1 8 5 3- 1 8 5 7. 

President, Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire; 
Vice-President, William R. King, of Alabama; 
Secretary of State, William L. Marcy, of New 
York; Secretary of the Treasury, James Guthrie, 
of Kentucky ; Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, 
of Mississippi ; Secretary of the Navy, James C. 
Dobbin, of North Carolina ; Secretary of the In- 
terior, Robert McClelland, of Michigan; Post- 
master-General, James Campbell, of Pennsylvania; 
Attorney-General, Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts, 



252 APPENDIX D. 

Eighteenth Administration — Buchanan, 1 8 5 7- 1 86 1 . 

President, James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania , 
Vice-President, John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky; 
Secretary of State, Lewis Cass, of Michigan, to 
March, 1857, then Jeremiah Black, of Pennsylva- 
nia ; Secretary of the Treasury, Howell Cobb, of 
Georgia, to December, 1860, Phillip F. Thomas, 
of Maryland, to January, 1861, then John A. Dix, 
of New York; Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, 
of Virginia, to January, 1861, then Joseph Holt, 
of Kentucky; Secretary of the Navy, Isaac 
Toucey, of Connecticut ; Secretary of the Interior, 
Jacob Thompson ; Postmaster-General, Aaron V. 
Brown, of Tennessee, to March, 1859, Joseph 
Holt, of Kentucky, to February, 1861, then Hora- 
tio King, of Maine ; Attorney-General, Jeremiah 
S- Black, of Pennsylvania, to December, 1860, then 
Edwin M. Stanton, of Pennsylvania. 

Nineteenth Administration — Lincoln, 1 86 1 - 1 86$ 

President, Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois ; Vice- 
President, Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine ; Secretary 
of State, William H. Seward, of New York ; Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio., 
to July, 1864, then William Pitt Fesseuden, of 
Maine ; Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, of 
Pennsylvania, to January, 1862, then Edwin M. 
Stanton, of Pennsylvania ; Secretary of the Navy, 
Gideon Welles, of Connecticut; Secretary of che 
Interior, Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, to January^ 



APPENDIX D. 



253 



1863, then John P. Usher, of Indiana; Postmaster- 
General, Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, to Sep- 
tember, 1864, then William Dennison, of Ohio; 
Attorney-General, Edward Bates, of Missouri, to 
June, 1863, T. J. Coffey, of Pennsylvania, to De- 
cember, 1864, then James Speed, of Kentucky. 

Twentieth Administration — Lincoln, Johnson, 1865-1869 

President, Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois; Vice 
President, Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee ; Secre 
tary of State, William H. Seward, of New York 
Secretary of the Treasury, Hugh McCulloch, of 
Indiana; Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, 
of Pennsylvania, to August, 1867, U. S. Grant, of 
Illinois, to February, 1868, Lorenzo Thomas, of 
Delaware, to May, 1868, then John M. SchofielcL 
of Illinois; Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, 
of Connecticut ; Secretary of the Interior, John P. 
Usher, of Indiana, to May, 1865, James Harlan, 
of Iowa, to July, 1866, then 0. H. Browning, of 
Illinois; Postmaster-General, William Dennison, 
of Ohio, to July, 1866, then Alexander W. Ran- 
dall, of Wisconsin; Attorney-General, James Speed, 
of Kentucky, to July, 1866, Henry Stanberry, of 
Ohio, to July, 1868, then William M. Evarts, of 
New York. 






Twenty-first Administration — Grant, 1 869- 1873. 

President, U. S. Grant, of Illinois; Vice-Presi- 
dent, Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana; Secretary of 



254 APPENDIX D. 

State, E. B. Washburne, of Illinois, to March, 
1869, then Hamilton Fish, of New York; Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, George S. Boutwell, of Mas- 
sachusetts; Secretary of War, John A. Rawlins, 
of Illinois, to September, 1869, then William T\ 
Sherman, of Ohio, to October, 1869, then William 
W. Belknap, of Iowa; Secretary of the Navy, 
Adolph E. Borie, of Pennsylvania, to June, 1869, 
then George M. Robeson, of New Jersey; Secre- 
tary of the Interior, Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio, to No- 
vember, 1870, then Columbus Delano, of Ohio; 
Postmaster-General, John A. J. Creswell, of Mary- 
land: Attoraev-General, E. Rockwood Hoar, of 
Massachusetts, to June, 1870, Amos T. Akerman. 
of Georgia, to December, 1861, then George H. 
Williams., of Oregon. 

Twenty-second Administration — Grant, 1 873-1 877. 

President, U. S. Grant, of Illinois; Vice-Presi* 
tffent, Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts; Secretary 
of State, Hamilton Fish, of New York; Secretary 
of the Treasury, William A. Richardson, of Mas- 
sachusetts, to June, 1874, Benjamin F. Bristow, 
of Kentucky, to June, 1876, then Lot M. Morrill, 
of Maine; Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, 
of Iowa, to March, 1876, Alphonso Taft, of Ohio, 
to May, 1876, then Donald Cameron, of Pennsyl- 
vania; Secretary of the Navy, George M. Robe 
son, of New Jersey; Secretary of the Interior, 
Columbus Delano, of Ohio, to October, 1875, thea 



APPENDIX D. 



255 



Zachariah Chandler, of Michigan; Postmaster- 
General, John A. J. Creswell, of Maryland, to 
August, 1874, Marshall Jewell, of Connecticut, tc 
July, 1876, then James M. Tyner, of Indiana; 
Attorney-General, George H. Williams, of Oregon, 
to April, 1875, Edward Pierrepont, of New York, 
to May, 1876, then Alphonso Taft, of Ohio. 

Twenty -third Administration — -Hayes, 1 8 7 7- 1 8 % I . 

President, Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio; Vice- 
President, William A. Wheeler, of New York; 
Secretary of State, William M. Evarts, of New 
York; Secretary of the Treasury, John Sherman, 
*f Ohio; Secretary of War, George W. McCrary, 
A Iowa, to December, 1879, then Alexander 
Ramsey, of Minnesota; Secretary of the Navy, 
Richard W. Thompson, of Indiana, to January, 
1881, then Nathan GofT, of West Virginia; Secre- 
tary of the Interior, Carl Schurz, of Missouri; 
Postmaster-General, David McKey, of Tennessee, 
to August, 1880, then Horace Maynard, of Tennes- 
see; Attorney-General, Charles Devens, of Massa- 
chusetts. 



Twenty-fourth Administration — Garfield, Arthur t 

1 881-1885. 

President, James A. Garfield, of Ohio ; Vice- 
President, Chester A. Arthur, of New York; Sec- 
retary of State, James G. Blaine, of Maine, to 
September, 1881, then Frederick Frelinghuysen, 



256 APPENDIX D. 

of New Jersey; Secretary of the Treasury, Wil- 
liam Windom, of Minnesota, to September, 1881, 
then Charles Folger, of New York; Secretary of 
War, Eobert Lincoln, of Illinois; Secretary of 
the Navy, William L. Hunt, of Louisiana, to 
April, 1882, then William Chandler, of New 
Hampshire ; Secretary of the Interior, Samuel J 
Kirkwood, of Iowa, to April, 1882, then Henry F. 
Teller, of Colorado ; Postmaster-General, Thomas 
L. James, of New York, to October, 1881, Timothy 
0. Howe, of Wisconsin, to October, 1883, then 
Walter Q. Gresham, of Indiana ; Attorney-General 
Wayne McVeagh, of Pennsylvania, to Septembeu 
1881, then Benjamin H. Brewster, of Pennsyl 
vania. 

Twenty-fifth Administration — Cleveland, Hendricks, 

1885-1888. 

President, Grover Cleveland, of New York; (the 
Vice-Presidency is vacant, by reason of the death 
of Mr. Hendricks;) Secretary of State, Thomas 
Francis Bayard, of Delaware; Secretary of the 
Treasury, Charles S. Fairchild, of New York ; Sec- 
retary of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachu- 
setts; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, of 
Wisconsin; Attorney-General, Augustus H. Gar- 
land, of Arkansas ; Secretary of the Navy, William 
C. Whitney, of New York ; Secretary of the In- 
terior, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi. Mr. 
Fairchild succeeded Daniel H. Manning as Secre- 
tary of the Treasury. Don. M. Dickinson, of Mich- 
igan, succeeded Mr. Vilas as Postmaster-General. 
Mr. Vilas succeeded Mr. Lamar as Secretary of the 
Interior. Mr. Lamar was elevated to the Supreme 
Court. 



APPENDIX D. 



257 



Twenty-sixth Administration — Harrison, Morton, 

1889-1893. 

President, Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; Vice- 
President, Levi P. Morton, New York ; Secretary 
of State, James G. Blaine, Maine ; Secretary of 
the Treasury, William Windom, Minnesota (de- 
ceased) , succeeded by Charles Foster, Ohio ; Sec- 
retary of War, Bedfield Proctor, Vermont (re- 
signed), succeeded by Stephen B. Elkins, West 
Virginia; Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin F. 
Tracy, New York; Secretary of the Interior, 
John W. Noble, Missouri; Postmaster-General, 
John Wanamaker, Pennsylvania; Secretary of 
Agriculture, Jeremiah M. Busk, Wisconsin; 
Attorney-General, William IL H. Miller. In- 
diana. 

Twenty-seventh Administratio?i — Cleveland, Stevenson, 

1893-1897. 

President, Grover Cleveland, New York ; Vice- 
President, Adlai E. Stevenson, Illinois ; Secretary 
of State, Richard Olney, Massachusetts ; Secretary 
of the Treasury, John G. Carlisle, Kentucky; Sec- 
retary of War, Daniel S. Lamont, New York ; At- 
torney-General, Judson Harmon, Ohio; Postmaster- 
General, William L. Wilson, West Virginia ; Sec- 
retary of the Navy, Hilary A. Herbert, Alabama; 
Secretary of the Interior, Hoke Smith, Georgia; 
Secretary of Agriculture, J. Sterling Morton, Ne- 
braska. 



258 APPENDIX D. 

Twenty -eighth Administration — Mc Kinley and Hobart, 

1897-1901. 

President, William McKinley, of Ohio ; Vice- 
President, Garrett A. Hobart, of New Jersey ; Sec- 
retary of State, John Sherman, of Ohio, succeeded 
by William P. Day, of Ohio, who was succeeded 
by John Hay, of Illinois ; Secretary of the Trea- 
sury, Lyman J. Gage, of Illinois ; Secretary of 
War, Kussell A. Alger, of Michigan, succeeded by 
Elihu Root, of New York; Attorney-General, 
Joseph McKenna, of California, succeeded by 
John W. Griggs, of New Jersey ; Postmaster-Gen- 
eral, James A. Gary, of Maryland, succeeded by 
Charles Emory Smith, of Pennsylvania ; Secretary 
of the Navy, John D. Long, of Massachusetts ; 
Secretary of the Interior, Cornelius N. Bliss, of 
New York, succeeded by Ethan Allen Hitchcock, 
of Missouri ; Secretary of Agriculture, James Wil- 
son, of Iowa. 



Appendix E. 



THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 

The Presidential Election will take place on 
Tuesday, November 6, 1900. The Constitution 
prescribes that each State shall appoint, in such 
manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a 
number of electors equal to the whole number of 
Senators and Representatives to which the State 
may be entitled in Congress. For the election this 
year, the electors by States will be as follows i 



States. Electoral Votes. 

Alabama 11 

Arkansas 8 

California 9 

Colorado 4 

Connecticut 6 

Delaware 3 

Florida 4 

Georgia 13 

Idaho 3 

Illinois 24 

Indiana , 15 

Iowa 13 

Kansas 10 

Kentucky 13 

Louisiana 8 

Maine 6 

Maryland 8 

Massachusetts 15 

Michigan 14 

Minnesota 0, 

Mississippi 9 

Missouri 1 7 

Montana 3 

Nebraska 8 



States. Electoral Votes. 

Nevada 3 

New Hampshire 4 

New Jersey 10 

New York 36 

North Carolina 11 

North Dakota 3 

Ohio 23 

Oregon 4 

Pennsylvania 32 

Rhode Island 4 

South Carolina 9 

South Dakota 4 

Tennessee 12 

Texas 15 

Utah 3 

Vermont 4 

Virginia 12 

Washington 4 

West Virginia 6 

Wisconsin 12 

Wyoming 3 



447 



Necessary to a choice, 224. 



250 



2g0 APPENDIX B. 

No Senator or Representative, or person holding 
an office of profit or trust under the United States, 
shall be an elector. In all the States, the laws 
thereof direct that the people shall choose the eleo* 
tors. The Constitution requires that the day when 
electors are chosen shall be the same throughout 
the United States. The electors shall meet in their 
respective States on the first Wednesday in Decem- 
ber, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, one of whom at least shall not be an inhab- 
itant of the same State with themselves. They 
shall name in their ballots the person voted for as 
President, and in distinct ballots the person voted 
for as Vice-President; and they shall make dis- 
tinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and 
of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of 
the number of votes for each; which lists they 
shall sign and certify and transmit, sealed, t« 
Washington, directed to the President of the Sen 
ate, before the first Wednesday in January. On 
the second Wednesday in February, the President 
o the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the certifi- 
cates, and the votes shall then be counted. Tb 
person having the greatest number of votes for Pres 
dent shall be the President, if such aumber shall be t 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; 
and if no person have such a majority, then from 
the persons having the highest numbers, not ex- 
ceeding three, on the list of those voted for as 



ie 

i- 



APPENDIX B. 



261 



President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose, immediately, by ballot, the President. But 
in choosing the President, the vote shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State 
having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall 
be necessary to a choice. And if the House of 
Representatives shall not choose a President when- 
ever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, 
then the Vice-President shall act as President, as 
in case of the death or other constitutional disa- 
bility. The person having the greatest number of 
votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed; and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on 
the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; 
a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds 
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority 
of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 
No person, except a natural-born citizen or a citi- 
zen of the United States at the time of the adop- 
tion of the Constitution, shall be eligible to the 
office of President; neither shall any person be 
eligible to that office who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty-five years. The qualifications 
for Vice-President are the same. 



Appendix F. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

OF AMERICA. 

We the People of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect Union, establish justice, in- 
sure domestic Tranquility, provide for the couk 
mon defence, promote the general Welfare, and 
secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and 
our Posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America. 

Article I. 

Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted 
shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, 
which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

Sec. 2. 1 The House of Representatives shall 
be composed of Members chosen every second year 
by the people of the several States, and the Elec- 
tors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for Electors of the most numerous branch 
of the State Legislature. 

2 No person shall be a Representative who shall 
not have attained to the age of twenty-five years 
and been seven years a citizen of United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

262 



APPENDIX 263 

3 Representatives and direct Taxes shall be ap- 
portioned among the several States which may be 
included within this Union, according to their re- 
spective numbers, which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole number of free persons, includ- 
ing those bound to service for a term of years, and 
excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other 
persons. The actual enumeration shall be made 
within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every 
subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as 
they shall by law direct. The Number of Repre- 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000, 
but each State shall have at least one Represen- 
tative ; and until such enumeration shall be made, 
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 
choose three; Massachusetts, eight; Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantation, one ; Connecticut, five, 
New York, six ; New Jersey, four ; Pennsylvania, 
eight ; Delaware, one ; Maryland, six ; Virginia, 
ten ; North Carolina, five ; South Carolina, five ; 
and Georgia, three. 

4 When vacancies happen in the Representation 
from any State, the executive authority thereof 
ehall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

5 The House of Representatives shall choose 
their Speaker and other officers ; and shall have 
the sole power of impeachment. 

Sec. 3. 1 The Senate of the United States shall 
be composed of two senators from each State, 



264 ArPENDI* 

chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years: 

and each senator shall have one vote. 

2 Immediately after they shall be assembled in 
consequence of the first election, they shall be 
divided as equally as may be into three classes. 
The seats of the senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year, of 
the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, 
and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth 
year, so that one-third may be chosen every second 
year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or 
otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of 
any State, the executive thereof may make 
temporary appointments until the next meeting of 
the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3 No person shall be a senator who shall not 
have attained to the age of thirty years, and been 
nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

4 The Vice-President of the United States shall 
be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, 
unless they be equally divided. 

5 The Senate shall choose their other officers, and 
also a President pro-tempore, in the absence of the 
Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office 
of President of the United States. 

6 The Senate shall have the sole power to try 
all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, 
they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 



APPENDIX 265 

President of the United States is tried, the chief 
justice shall preside : And no person shall be con* 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
members present. 

7 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not 
extend further than to removal from office, and dis- 
qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust or profit under the United States; but the 
party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and 
subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punish- 
ment, according to law. 

Sec. 4. 1 The times, places and manner of hold- 
ing elections for Senators and Representatives shall 
be prescribed in each State by the legislature 
thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law 
make or alter such regulations, except as to the 
places f choosing senators. 

2 The Congress shall assemble at least once in 
every year, and such meeting shall be on the first 
Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
appoint a different day. 

Sec. 5. 1 Each House shall be the judge of 
the election, returns and qualifications of its own 
members, and a majority of each shall constitute a 
quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized 
to compel the attendance of absent members, in 
such manner, and under such penalties as each 
House may provide. 

2 Each House may determine the rules of ite 



266 APPENDIX 

proceedings, punish its members for disorderly 
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
expel a member. 

3 Each House shall keep a journal of its pro- 
ceedings, and from time to time publish the same, 
excepting such parts as may in their judgment require 
secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of 
either House on any question shall, at the desire of 
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

4 Neither House during the session of Congress, 
shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for 
more than three days, nor to any other place than 
that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 6. 1 The senators and representatives shall 
receive a compensation for their services, to be 
ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of 
the United States. They shall in all cases, except 
treason, felony and breach of peace, be privileged 
from arrest during their attendance at the session ol 
their respective Houses, and in going to and return- 
ing from the same ; and for any speech or debate in 
either House they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

2 No senator or representative shall, during the 
time for which he was elected, be appointed to any 
civil office under the authority of the United States, 
which shall have been created, or the emolument! 
whereof shall have been increased during such 
time ; and no person holding any office under th« 
United States, shall be a member of either House 
during his continuance in office. 



APPENDIX 267 

Sec. 7. 1 All bills for raising revenue shall 
originate in the House of Representatives ; but the 
Senate may propose or concur with amendment* 
as on other bills. 

2 Every bill which shall have passed the House 
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it 
becomes a law, be presented to the President of the 
United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but 
if not he shall return it, with his objections, to that 
House in which it shall have originated, who 
shall enter the objections at large on their journal 
and proceed to reconsider it. If after such recon- 
sideration two-thirds of that House shall agree to 
pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the 
objections, to the other House, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two- 
thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But 
in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be 
determined by yeas and nays, and the names of 
the persons voting for and against the bill shall be 
entered on the journal of each House respectively. 
If any bill shall not be returned by the President 
within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 
have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, 
in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, 
in which case it shall not be a law. 

3 Every order, resolution or vote to which the 
concurrence of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives may be necessary (except a question of 



268 APPENDIX 

adjournment) shall be presented to the President 
of the United States; and before the same shall 
take effect, shall be approved by him, or being dis- 
approved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, ac- 
cording to the rules and limitations prescribed in 
the case of a bill. 

Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power 

1 To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and 
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the com- 
mon defence and general welfare of the United 
States ; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States. 

2 To borrow money on the credit of the United 

States ; 

3 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, 
and among the several States, and with the Indian 

tribes ; 

4 To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, 
and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies 
throughout the United States ; 

5 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, 
and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights 
and measures ; 

6 To provide for the punishment of counterfeit- 
ing the securities and current coin of the United 

States ; 

7 To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

8 To promote the progress of science and useful 
arts, by securing for limited times to authors and 



appendix 269 

inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries ; 

9 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme 
Court ; 

10 To define and punish piracies and felonies 
committed on the high seas, and offences against 
the law of nations ; 

11 To declare war, grant letters of marque and 
reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on 
land and water; 

12 To raise and support armies, but no appro- 
priation of money to that use shall be for a longer 
term than two years ; 

13 To provide and maintain a navy ; 

14 To make rules for the government and regu- 
lation of the land and naval forces ; 

15 To provide for calling forth the militia to 
execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrec- 
tions and repel invasions; 

16 To provide for organizing, arming, and dis- 
ciplining the militia, and for governing such part 
of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively, 
the appointment of the officers, and the authority 
of training the militia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress ; 

17 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases 
whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten 
miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the 



270 APPENDIX 

seat of the government of the United States, and 
to exercise like authority over all places purchased 
by the consent of the Legislature of the State in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful 
buildings; and 

18 To make all laws which shall be necessary 
and proper for carrying into execution the fore- 
going powers, and all other powers vested by thi» 
Constitution, in the government of the United 
States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

Sec. 9. 1 The migration or importation of such 
persons as any of the States now existing shall 
think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by 
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be im- 
posed on such importation, not exceeding ten dol- 
lars for each person. 

2 The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion 
or invasion the public safety may require it. 

3 No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall 
be passed. 

4 No capitation, or other direct tax, shall be 
laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumera- 
tion herein before directed to be taken. 

5 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles ex- 
ported from any State. 

6 No preference shall be given by any regula- 
tion of commerce or revenue to the ports of one 



APPENDIX 271 

State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound 
to, or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or 
pay duties in another. 

7 No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, 
but in consequence of appropriations made by law; 
and a regular statement and account of the re- 
ceipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
be published from time to time. 

8 No title of nobility shall be granted by the 
United States : And no person holding any office 
ol profit or trust under them, shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolu- 
ment, office or title, of any kind whatever, from 
any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Sec. 10. 1 No State shall enter into any treaty, 
alliance, or confederation ; grant letters of marque 
and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; 
make anything but gold and silver coin a tender 
in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex 
post facto law, or law impairing the obPgation of 
contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2 No State shall, without the consent of the 
Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or 
exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing its inspection laws ; and the net pro- 
duce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State 
on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the 
Treasury of the United States ; and all such laws 
shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress. 



272 APPENDIX 

S No State shall, without the consent of Con- 
gress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or 
ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agree- 
ment or compact with another State, or with a 
foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually 
invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay. 

Article II. 

Sec. 1. 1 The executive power shall be vested 
in a President of the United States of America. 
^Ie shall hold his office during the term of four 
^fears, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen 
for the same term, be elected, as follows : 

2 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as 
the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of 
electors, equal to the whole number of senators 
And representatives, to which the State may be 
entitled in the Congress : but no senator or repre- 
sentative, or person holding an office of trust or 
profit under the United States shall be appointed 
an elector. 

[*The electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom 
one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
State with themselves. And they shall make a 
list of all the persons voted for, and of the number 
of votes for each ; which list they shall sign and 
certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern- 

* This clause within bracket* has been superseded and annulled by thr 
•trelfth amendment. 



APPENDIX 278 

ment of the United States, directed to the Presi- 
dent of the Senate. The President of the Senate 
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the 
votes shall then be counted. The person having 
the greatest number of votes shall be the President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed ; and if there be more than 
one who have such majority, and have an equal 
number of votes, then the House of Representa- 
tives shall immediately choose by ballot one of 
them for President; and if no person have a ma- 
jority, then from the five highest on the list the 
said House shall, in like manner, choose the Presi- 
dent. But in choosing the President, the votes 
shall be taken by States, the representation from 
each State having one vote; a quorum for this pur 
pose shall consist of a member or members from 
two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the 
States shall be necessary to a choice. In every 
case, after the choice of the President, the person 
having the greatest number of votes of the elec- 
tors, shall be the Vice-President. But if there 
should remain two or more who have equal votes, 
the Senate shall choose from them by ballot, the 
Vice-President.] 

3 The Congress may determine the time of 
choosing the electors, and the day on which they 
shall give their votes ; which day shall be the sany 
throughout the United States, 



APPENDIX 



274 

4 No person except a natural born citizen, or a 
citizen of the United States, at the time of the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to 
the office of President; neither shall any person 
be eligible to that office who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty-five years and been fourteen 
years a resident within the United States. 

5 In case of the removal of the President from 
office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to dis. 
charge the powers and duties of the said office, the 
same° shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the 
Congress may by law provide for the case of 
removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of 
the President and Vice-President, declaring what 
officer shall then act as President, and such officer 
shall act accordingly, until the disability be 
removed, or a President shall be elected. 

6 The President shall, at stated times, receive 
for his services, a compensation, which shall neither 
be increased nor diminished during the period for 
which he shall have been elected, and he shall not 
receive within that period any other emolument 
from the United States, or any of them. 

7 Before he enter on the execution of his office, 
he shall take the following oath or affirmation : 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
faithfully execute the office of President of the 
United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of 
the United States." 



APPENDIX 275 

Sec. 2. 1 The President shall be commander* 
m-chief of the army and navy of the United States, 
and of the militia of the several States, when 
called into the actual service of the United States; 
he may require the opinion, in writing, of the 
principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of 
their respective offices, and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2 He shall have power by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, pro- 
vided two-thirds of the senators present concur; 
*nd he shall nominate, and by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambas- 
sadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges 
Df the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the 
United States, whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab- 
lished by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think 
proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, 
or in the heads of departments. 

3 The President shall have power to fill up all 
vacancies that may happen during the recess of the 
Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire 
at the end of their next session. 

Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give tne 
Congress information of the stnteof the Union, and 
recommend to their consideration such measures as 



276 APPENDIX 

he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, 
on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, 
or either of them, and in case of disagreement 
between them, with respect to the time of adjourn- 
ment, he may adjourn them to such time as he 
shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors 
and other public ministers ; he shall take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commis- 
sion all the officers of the United States. 

Sec. 4. The President, Yice- President and all 
civil officers of the United States, shall be removed 
from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, 
treason, bribery, or other high crimes and mis- 
demeanors. 

Article III. 

Sec. 1. The judicial power of the United States 
shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such 
inferior courts as the Congress may from time to 
time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices 
during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, 
receive for their service a compensation, which 
shall not be diminished during their continuance 

in office. 

Sec. 2. 1 The judicial power shall extend to all 

cases, in law and equity, arising under this Consti- 
tution, the laws of the United States and treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under their authority; 
to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public min- 



APPENDIX 277 

isters and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and 
maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which 
the United States shall be a party ; to controver- 
sies between two or more States ; between a State 
and ckizens of another State, between citizens of 
different States, between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and 
between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
States, citizens or subjects. 

2 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, and those in which a State 
shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original 
jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, 
the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, 
both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and 
ander such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

3 The trial of all crimes, except in cases of im- 
peachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall 
be held in the State where the said crimes shall 
have been committed; but when not committed 
within any State, the trial shall be at such place or 
places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Sec. 3. 1 Treason against the United States 
shall consist only in levying war against them, or 
in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the 
same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2 The Congress shall have power to declare the 
punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason 



278 APPENDIX 

shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except 
during the life of the person attainted. 

Article IV. 

Sec. 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in 
each State to the public acts, records, and judicial 
proceedings of every other State. And the Con< 
gress may by general laws prescribe the manner 
in which such acts, records and proceedings shall 
be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec. 2. 1 The citizens of each State shall be 
entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens 
in the several States. 

2 A person charged in any State with treason, 
felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, 
and be found in another State, shall on demand of 
the executive authority of the State from which 
he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the 
State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3 No person held to service or labor in one 
State, under the laws thereof, escaping into an- 
other, shall, in consequence of any law or regula- 
tion therein, be discharged from such service or 
labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the 
party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sec. 3. 1 New States may be admitted by the 
Congress into this Union ; but no new State shall 
be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 
other State ; nor any State be formed by the junc- 
tion of two or more States, or parts of States, with- 



APPENDIX 279 

out the consent of the legislatures of the State* 
concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2 The Congress shall have power to dispose of 
and make all needful rules and regulations respect- 
ing the territory or other property belonging to 
the United States; and nothing in this Constitu- 
tion shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims 
of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to 
every State in this Union a Republican form of 
government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and on application of the legislature, or 
of the executive (when the legislature cannot be 
convened) against domestic violence. 

Article V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both 
Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose 
amendments to this Constitution, or, on the appli- 
cation of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the sev- 
eral States, shall call a Convention for proposing 
amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid 
to all intents and purposes, as part of this Consti- 
tution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in 
three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode 
of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; 
Provided that no amendment which may be made 
prior to the year 1808 shall in any manner affect 
the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of 



280 APPENDIX 

the first article; and that no State, without it» 
«*)nsent ? shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in 
the Senate. 

Article VI. 

1 All debts contracted and engagements entered 
into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall 
be as valid against the United States under this 
Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

2 This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; 
and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be 
the supreme law of the land ; and the Judges in 
every State shall be bound thereby, anything ir 
the Constitution or laws of any State to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

3 The Senators and Representatives before men- 
tioned, and the members of the several State Legis- 
latures, and all executive and judicial officers, both 
of the United States and of the several States, shall 
be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this 
Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be 
required as a qualification to any office or public 
trust under the United States. 

Article VII. 

The ratification of the Conventions of nine 
States shall be sufficient for the establishment of 
this Constitution between the States so ratifying 
the same. 



APPENDIX >g| 

Do« in Convention by the unanimous consent 
of the States present the 17th day of Septem- 
ber in the year of our Lord 1787, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America 
the twelfth. In witness whereof we have 
hereunto subscribed our names, 

Geo. Washington, 
President and deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire. 
John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. 

Massachusetts. 
Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King, 

Connecticut. 
Wm Saml Johnson, Roger Sherman. 

New York. 
Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. 
Wit Livingston, David Brearley, 

William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. 
B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, 

Robert Morris, George Clymer, 

Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, Gouverneur Morrii. 

Delaware. 
George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jun'r, 

John Dickinson, Richard Bassett. 
Jaoob Broom, 



282 APPBNMX 

Maryland. 
James M'Henry, Dan. of St. Thos. Jenifer. 

Daniel Carroll, 

Virginia. 

John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

Narth Carolina. 
William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight. 
Hugh Williamson, 

South Oarolma. 
J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 

Charles Pincknej, Pierce Butler. 

Georgia. 

William Few, Abr. Baldwin. 

Attest : William Jackson, Secretary. 



Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of the 
Constitution of the United States of America. 

Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legisla- 
tures of tfie several States, pursuant to the fifth 
article of the original Constitution. 

Article I. 
Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of 
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to 
assemble, and to petition the government for a re- 
dre&s Df grievances. 



ATFENDIX 283 

Article II. 

A well regulated militia being necessary to the 
security of a free State, the right of the people to 
keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

Article III. 
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered 
in any house, without the consent of the owner, 
nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed 
by law. 

Article IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their per- 
sons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreason- 
able searches and seizures, shall not be violated, 
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particu- 
larly describing the place to be searched, and the 
person or things to be seized. 

Article V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a present* 
ment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or 
public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for 
the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of 
life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any crimi- 
nal case to be a witness against himself, nor be 
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 



284 APPENDIX 

£/ocess of law ; nor shall private property be taxen 
for public use, without just compensation. 

Article VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an 
impartial jury of the State and district wherein 
the crime shall have been committed, which district 
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and 
to be informed of the nature and cause of the ac- 
cusation; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him ; to have compulsory process for obtain- 
ing witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance 
of counsel for his defence. 

Article VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in con 
troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried 
by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
court of the United States, than according to the 
rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish- 
ments inflicted. 

Article IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain 
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage 
others retained by the people. 



APPENDIX 285 

Article X. 
The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the 
State, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
the people. 

Article XI. 

The judicial power of the United States shall not 
be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, 
commenced or prosecuted against one of the United 
States by citizens of another State, or by citizens 
or subjects of any foreign State. 

Article XII. 
The electors shall meet in their respective States 
and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, 
one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant 
of the same State with themselves; they shall 
name in their ballots the person voted for as Presi- 
dent, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as 
Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists 
of all persons voted for as President, and of all 
persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the 
number of votes for each, which list they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of 
the government of the United States, directed to 
the President of the Senate ; the President of the 
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, open all the certificates, and 
the votes shall then be counted ; the person having 
the greatest number of votes for President shall 



286 APPENDIX 

be the President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed ; and if 
no person have such majority, then from the 
persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding 
three on the list of those voted for as President, 
the House of Representatives shall choose immedi- 
ately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing 
the President the votes shall be taken by States, 
the representation from each State having one 
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a 
member or members from two- thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the House of Representative! 
shall not choose a President whenever the right of 
choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth 
day of March next following, then the Vice-Presi- 
dent shall act as President, as in the case of the 
death or other constitutional disability of the 
President. The person having the greatest number 
of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-Presi- 
dent, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed, and if no person 
have a majority, then from the two highest numbers 
on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-Presi* 
dent ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of 
two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a 
majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice. But no person constitutionally in- 
eligible to the office of President shall be eligible 
to that of Vice-President of the United States. 



HON. WILLIAM J. BRYAN'S LETTER OP 

ACCEPTANCE. 

Mr. Bryan was formally notified of his nomination 
at Indianapolis, August 8th, by Congressman J. D. 
Richardson, of Tennessee. In his speech accepting 
the nomination Mr. Bryan did not mention free silver. 
He discussed nothing except imperialism. He began 
by declaring that now the policy of the Republican 
partyis that of organized wealth, and that its present 
doctrines are antagonistic to former teachings. Then 
Mr. Bryan said : — 

"In attempting to press economic questions upon 
the country to the exclusion of those which involve 
the very structure of our government, the Republican 
leaders give new evidence of their abandonment of the 
earlier ideals of the party and of their complete sub- 
serviency to pecuniary considerations. 

"Instead of meeting the issue boldly, and submit- 
ting a clear and positive plan for dealing with the 
Philippine question, the Republican Convention 
adopted a platform the larger part of which was de- 
voted to boasting and self-congratulation. 

"For a time Republican leaders were inclined to 
deny to opponents the right to criticise the Philippine 
policy of the administration, but upon investigation 
they found that both Lincoln and Clay asserted and 
exercised the right to criticise a President during the 
progress of the Mexican war. 

"But they shall not be permitted to evade the stu- 
pendous and far-reaching issue which they have delib- 
erately brought into the arena of politics. When the 
President, supported by a practically unanimous vote 
of the House and Senate, entered upon a war with 
Spain for the purpose of aiding the struggling patriots 
of Cuba, the country, without regard to party, ap- 
plauded. Although the Democrats recognized that 

1 



W. J. BKYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 



the administration would necessarily gain a political 
advantage from the conduct of a war which, in the 
very nature of the case, must soon end in a complete 
victory, they vied with the Republicans in the sup- 
port which they gave to the President. 

"When the war was over and the Republican 
leaders began to suggest the propriety of a colonial 
policy opposition at once manifested itself. When the 
President finally laid before the Senate a treaty which 
recognized the independence of Cuba, but provided 
for the cession of the Philippine Islands to the United 
States, the menace of imperialism became so apparent 
that many preferred to reject the treaty and risk the 
ills that might follow rather than take the chance of 
correcting the errors of the treaty by the independent 
action of this country. 

" I was among the number of those who believed it 
better to ratify the treaty and end war, release the 
volunteers, remove the excuse for war expenditures 
and then give to the Filipinos the independence 
which might be forced from Spain by a new treaty. 

"In view of the criticism which my action aroused 
in some quarters I take this occasion to restate the 
reasons given at that time. I thought it safer to trust 
the American people to give independence to the Fili- 
pinos than to trust the accomplishment of that pur- 
pose to diplomacy with an unfriendly nation. Lincoln 
embodied an argument in the question, when he 
asked, " Can aliens make treaties easier than friends 
can make laws?" I believe that we are now in a 
better position to wage a successful contest against 
imperialism than we would have been had the treaty 
been rejected. With the treaty ratified, a clean-cut 
issue is presented between a government by consent 
and a government by force, and imperialists must bear 
the responsibility for all that happens until the ques- 
tion is settled. 

"When hostilities broke out at Manila Republican 



W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 3 

speakers and Republican editors at once sought to lay 
the blame upon those who had delayed the ratification 
of the treaty, and during the progress of the war the 
same Republicans have accused the opponents of im- 
perialism of giving encouragement to the Filipinos. 
This is a cowardly evasion of responsibility. 

"If it is right for the United states to hold the 
Philippine Islands permanently and imitate the Euro- 
pean empires in the government of colonies, the Re- 
publican party ought to state its position and defend 
it, but it must expect the subject races to protest 
against such a policy and to resist to the extent of 
their ability. 

1 The Filipinos do not need any encouragement 
from Americans now living. Our whole history has 
been an encouragement, not only to the Filipinos, 
but to all who are denied a voice in their own gov- 
ernment. 

1 If the Republicans are prepared to censure all 
who have used language calculated to make the Fili- 
pinos hate foreign dominion, let them condemn the 
speech of Patrick Henry. When he uttered that 
passionate appeal, ' Give me liberty or give me death ! ' 
he expressed a sentiment which still echoes in the 
hearts of men. Let them censure Jefferson. Of all 
the statesmen of history none has used words so offen- 
sive to those who would hold their fellows in political 
bondage. Let them censure Washington, who de- 
clared that the colonists must choose between liberty 
and slavery. 

'Or, if the statute of limitations has run against 
the sins of Henry and Jefferson and Washington, let 
them censure Lincoln, whose Gettysburg speech will 
be quoted in defence of popular government when the 
present advocates of force and conquest are forgotten. 
"Some one has said that a truth once spoken can 
never be recalled. It is true. It goes on and on, and 
no one can set a limit to its ever widening influence. 



4 W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

But if it were possible to obliterate every word written 
or spoken in defence of trie principles set forth in trie 
Declaration of Independence, a war of conquest would 
still leave its legacy of perpetual hatred, for it was 
God Himself who placed in every human heart the 
love of liberty. He never made a race of people so 
low in the scale of civilization or intelligence that it 
would welcome a foreign master. 

' ' Lincoln said that the safety of this nation was 
not in its fleets, its armies or its forts, but in the spirit 
which prizes liberty and the heritage of all men in all 
lands, everywhere ; and he warned his countrymen 
that they could not destroy this spirit without plant- 
ing the seeds of despotism at their own doors. 

" Those who would have this nation enter upon a 
career of empire must consider not only the effect of 
imperialism on the Filipinos, but they must also cal- 
culate its effect upon our own nation. We cannot 
repudiate the principle of self-government in the Phil- 
ippines without weakening that principle here. 

" Bven now we are beginning to see the paralyzing 
influence of imperialism. Heretofore this nation has 
been prompt to express its sympathy with those who 
were fighting for civil liberty. While our sphere of 
activity has been limited to the Western Hemisphere, 
our sympathies have not been bounded by the seas. 
We have felt it due to ourselves and to the world, as 
well as to those who were struggling for the right to 
govern themselves, to proclaim the interest which our 
people have, from the date of their own independence, 
felt in every contest between human rights and arbi- 
trary power. 

"Three-quarters of a century ago, when our nation 
was small, the struggles of Greece aroused our people 
and Webster and Clay gave eloquent expression to the 
universal desire for Grecian independence. In 1896 
all parties manifested a lively interest in the success 
of the Cubans, but now when a war is in progress in 



W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 5 

vSouth Africa which must result in the extension of the 
monarchical idea or in the triumph of a republic, the 
advocates of imperialism in this country dare not say 
a word in behalf of the Boers. 

"Sympathy for the Boers does not arise from any 
unfriendliness toward England ; the American people 
are not unfriendly toward the people of any nation. 
This sympathy is due to the fact that, as stated in our 
platform, we believe in the principle of self-govern- 
ment and reject, as did our forefathers, the claims of 
monarchy. If this nation surrenders its belief in the 
universal application of the principles set forth in the 
Declaration of Independence, it will lose the prestige 
and influence which it has enjoyed among the nations 
as an exponent of popular government. 

" Our opponents, conscious of the weakness of their 
cause, seek to confuse imperialism with expansion, and 
have even dared to claim Jefferson as a supporter of 
their policy. Jefferson spoke so freely and used lan- 
guage with such precision that no one can be ignorant 
of his views. On one occasion he declared : — 'If there 
be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in 
the mind of every American, it is that we should have 
nothing to do with conquest.' And again he said : — 
1 Conquest is not in our principles ; it is inconsistent 
with our government.' 

" The forcible annexation of territory to be governed 
by arbitrary power differs as much from the acquisition 
of territory to be built up into States as a monarchy 
differs from a democracy. 

" The Democratic party does not oppose expansion, 
when expansion enlarges the area of the republic and 
incorporates land which can be settled by American 
citizens, or adds to our population people who are 
willing to become citizens and are capable of discharg- 
ing their duties as such. 

u The acquisition of the Louisiana territory, Flor- 
ida, Texas and other tracts which have been secured 
10 D 



6 "W. J. BRYAN'S LETTEE OF ACCEPTANCE. 

from time to time enlarged the Republic, and the con- 
stitution followed the flag into the new territory. It 
is now proposed to seize upon distant territory already 
more densely populated than our own country, and to 
force upon the people a government for which there is 
no warrant in our constitution or our laws. 

"Even the argument that this earth belongs to 
those who desire to cultivate it and have the physical 
power to acquire it cannot be invoked to justify the 
appropriation of the Philippine Islands by the United 
States. If the islands were uninhabited American cit- 
izens would not be willing to go there and till the 
soil. The white race will not live so near the equator. 
Other nations have tried to colonize in the same lati- 
tude. 

u The Netherlands have controlled Java for 300 
years, and yet to-day there are less than 60,000 people 
of European birth scattered among 25,000, 000 natives. 
After a century and a half of English dominion in 
India less than one-twentieth of one per cent of the 
people in India are of English birth, and it requires an 
army of 70,000 British soldiers to take care of the tax 
collectors. Spain has asserted title to the Philippine 
Islands for three centuries, and yet when our fleet en- 
tered Manila Bay there were less than 10,000 Span- 
iards residing in the Philippines. 

u A colonial policy means that we shall send to the 
Philippines a few traders, a few taskmasters and a few 
officeholders, and an army large enough to support the 
authority of a small fraction of the people while they 
rule the natives. 

"If we have an imperial policy we must have a 
large standing army as its natural and necessary com- 
plement. The spirit which will justify the forcible 
annexation of the Philippine Islands will justify the 
seizure of other islands and the domination of other 
people, and with wars of conquest we can expect a 
certain if not rapid growth of our military establish- 



W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 7 

merit. That a large permanent increase in onr regular 
army is intended by the Republican leaders is not a 
mere matter of conjecture, but a matter of fact. 

"In his message of December 5, 1898, the President 
asked for authority to increase the standing army to 
100,000. In 1896 the army contained about 25,000 
men. Within two years the President asked for four 
times that many, and a Republican House of Repre- 
sentatives complied with the request after the Spanish 
treatv had been signed and no countrv was at war with 
the United States. 

"If such an army is demanded when an imperial 
policy is contemplated, but not openly avowed, what 
may be expected if the people encourage the Repub- 
lican party by indorsing its policy at the polls? A 
large standing army is not only a pecuniary burden to 
the people, and, if accompanied by compulsory ser- 
vice, a constant source of irritation, but it is ever a 
menace to a republican form of government. The 
army is the personification of force, and militarism 
will inevitably change the ideals of the people and 
turn the thoughts of our young men from the arts of 
peace to the science of war. 

"The Republican platform assumes that the Philip- 
pine Islands will be retained under American sove- 
reigns, and we have a right to demand of the Repub- 
lican leaders a discussion of the future status of the 
Filipino. Is he to be a citizen or a subject? Are we 
to bring into the body politic eight or ten million 
Asiatics, so different from us in race and histrry that 
amalgamation is impossible? Are they to share with 
us in making the laws and shaping the destiny of this 
nation? Xo Republican of prominence has been bold 
enough to advocate such a proposition. The McEnery 
resolution, adopted by the Senate immediately after 
the ratification of the treaty, expressly negatives this 
idea. 

4 'The Democratic platform describes the situation 



8 W. J. 'BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

when it says that the Filipinos cannot be citizens 
without endangering our civilization. Who will dis- 
pute it? And what is the alternative? If the Fili- 
pino is not to be a citizen shall we make him a sub- 
ject? On that question the Democratic platform 
speaks with emphasis. It declares that the Filipino 
cannot be a subject without endangering our form of 
government. 

" A republic can have no subject. A subject is pos- 
sible only in a government resting upon force. He is 
unknown in a government deriving its just powers 
from the consent of the governed. 

"The Republican platform says that the largest 
measure of self-government consistent with their wel- 
fare and our duties shall be secured to them (the Fili- 
pinos) by law. This is a strange doctrine for a gov- 
ernment which owes its very existence to the men 
who offered their lives as a protest against govern- 
ment without consent and taxation without represent- 
ation. 

"In what respect does the position of the Republi- 
can party differ from the position taken by the Eng- 
lish government in 1776? Did not the English gov- 
ernment promise a good government to the colonists? 
What king ever promises a bad government to his 
people? Did not the English government promise 
that the colonists should have the largest measure of 
self-government consistent with their welfare and 
English duties? Did not the Spanish government 
promise to give the Cubans the largest measure of 
self-government consistent with their welfare and 
Spanish duties? 

' The whole difference between a monarchy and a 
republic may be summed up in one sentence. In a 
monarchy the king gives to the people what he be- 
lieves to be a good government ; in a republic the 
people secure for themselves what they believe to be 
a good government. The Republican party has ac- 



W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 9 

cepted the European idea and planted itself upon the 
ground taken by George III. and by every ruler who 
distrusts the capacity of the people for self govern- 
ment or denies thein a voice in their own affairs." 

After saying this Mr. Bryan recalled that nearly 
sixteen months elapsed after the ratification of the 
treaty and the adjournment of Congress,' but no law 
was passed dealing with the Philippine situation. He 
pointed to the storm of protest which greeted the 
Puerto Ricau bill, because it was a radical departure 
from history and precedent. Then he asked : 

1 Is the sunlight of full citizenship to be enjoyed 
by thepeople of the United States and the twilight of 
semi-citizenship endured by the people of Puerto 
Rico, while the thick darkness of perpetual vassalage 
covers the Philippines ? The Puerto Rico tariff law 
asserts the doctrine that the operation of the con- 
stitution is confined to the forty-five States. The 
Democratic party disputes this doctrine and denounces 
it as repugnant to both the letter and the spirit of our 
organic law. There is no place in our system of 
government for the deposit of arbitrary and irresponsi- 
ble power. 

" That the leaders of a great party should claim for 
any President or Congress the right to treat millions 
of people as mere ' possessions ' and deal with them 
unrestrained by the constitution or the bill of rights 
shows how far we have already departed from the 
ancient landmarks and indicates what may be ex- 
pected if this nation deliberately enters upon a career 
of empire. 

"The territorial form of government is temporary 
and < preparatory, and the chief security a citizen of a 
territory has is found in the fact that he enjoys the 
same constitutional guarantees and is subject to the 
same general laws as a citizen of a State. Take away 
this security and his rights will be violated and his 
interest sacrificed at the demand of those who have 



10 W. J. BRIAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

political influence. This is the evil of the colonial 
system, no matter by what nation it is applied. 

" What is our title to the Philippine Islands ? Do 
we hold them by treaty or by conquest ? Did we buy 
them or did we take them? Did we purchase the 
people? If not, how did we secure title to them? 
Were they thrown in with the islands : Will the Re- 
publicans say that' inanimate earth has values, and 
that when that earth is moulded by the divine hand 
and stamped with the likeness of the Creator it be- 
comes a fixture and passes with the soil ? 

"If governments derive their just powers from the 
consent of the governed, it is impossible to secure title 
to the people, either by force or by purchase. We 
could extinguish Spain's title by treaty, but if we 
hold title we must hold it by some method consistent 
with our ideas of government. 

■■ When we made allies of the Filipinos and armed 
them to fight against Spain we disputed Spain's title. 
If we buy Spain's title, we are not innocent purchas- 
ers. But even if we had not disputed Spain's title, 
she could transfer no greater title than she had, and 
her title was based ov force alone. 

u We cannot defend such a title, but as Spain gave 
us a quitclaim deed we can honorably turn the prop- 
erty over to the party in possession. Whether any 
American official gave the Filipinos moral assurance 
of independence is not material. .There can be no 
doubt^ that we accepted and utilized the services of 
the Filipinos, and that when we did so we had full 
knowledge that they were fighting for their own in- 
dependence, and I submit that history furnishes no 
example of turpitude baser than ours if we now sub- 
stitute our yoke for the Spanish yoke. 

"Let us consider briefly the reasons which have 
been given in support of an imperialistic policy. 
Some say that it is our duty to hold the Philippine 
Islands But duty is not an argument : it is a conclusion, 



W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 11 

To ascertain what our duty is in any emergency we 
must apply well settled and generally accepted princi- 
ples. It is our duty to avoid stealing, no matter 
whether the thing to be stolen is of great or little value. 

" It is our duty to avoid killing a human being, no 
matter where the human being lives or to what race 
or class he belongs. 

' ' Every one recognizes the obligation imposed 
upon individuals to observe both the human and moral 
law, but, as some deny the application of these laws 
to nations, it may not be out of place to quote the 
opinion of others. Jefferson, than whom there is no 
higher political authority, said : 

" * I know of but one code of morality for men, 
whether tliev act singly or collectively.' 

" Franklin, whose learning, w r isdom and virtue are 
a part of the priceless legacy bequeathed to us from 
the Revolutionary days, expressed the same idea in 
even stronger language when he said : 

" 'Justice is as strictly due between neighbor nations 
as between neighbor citizens. A highwayman is as 
much a robber when he plunders in a gang as when 
singly : and the nation that makes an unjust war is 
only a great gang.' 

1 ' Men may dare to do in crowds what they would 
not dare to do as individuals, but the moral character 
of an act is not determined by the number of those 
who join in it. Force can defend a right, but force 
has never yet created a right. 

" If it was true, as declared in the resolutions of in- 
tervention, that the Cubans 'are and of right ought 
to be free and independent' (language taken from the 

claration of Independence), it is equally true that 
the Filipinos 'are and of right ought to be free and 
independent.' 

"Who will draw a line between the natural rights 
of the Cubans and the Filipinos?" 

After saying that the highest obligation of this 



12 W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

nation is to be true to itself, and that no obligation to 
any nation or all combined can require the abandon- 
ment of our theory of government, Mr. Bryan said : 

" It is argued by some that the Filipinos are incap- 
able of self government, and that, therefore, we owe 
it to the world to take control of them. Admiral 
Dewey, in an official report to the Navy Department, 
declared the Filipinos more capable of self govern- 
ment than the Cubans, and said that he based his 
opinion upon a knowledge of both races. But I will 
not rest the case upon the relative advancement of 
the Filipinos. 

" Henry Clay, in defending the rights of the people 
of South America to self government, said : ' It is the 
doctrine of thrones that man is too ignorant to govern 
himself. Self government is the natural government 
of man.' 

"Clay was right. Once admit that some people 
are capable of self government and that others are not, 
and that the capable people have the right to seize 
upon and govern the incapable and you make force 
— brute ^ force — the only foundation of government 
and invite the reign of the despot. 

" Republicans ask, ' Shall we haul down the flag 
that floats over our dead in the Philippines ? ' The 
same question might have been asked when the 
American flag floated over Chapultepec and waved 
oyer the dead who fell there, but the tourist who 
visits the City of Mexico finds there a national ceme- 
tery owned by the United States and cared for by an 
American citizen. Our flag still floats over our dead, 
but when the treaty with Mexico was signed Ameri- 
can authority withdrew to the Rio Grande." 

Regarding whether we can govern colonies, Mr. 
Bryan argued that the question was not what we can 
do, but what we ought to do. He denied the asser- 
tion that American rule in the Philippines would re- 
sult in the better education of the Filipinos, because 



W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 13 

when one nation governs another without its consent 
it dare not educate it. 

Mr. Bryan continued : — 
The principal arguments, however, advanced by 
those who enter upon a defence of imperialism are :— 

' First -That we must improve the present oppor- 
tunity to become a world power and enter into inter- 
national politics. 

"? ec ? nd ~~' rhat our commercial interests in the 
Philippine Islands and in the Orient make it necessary 
for us to hold the islands permanently. 

/'Third— That the spread of the Christian religion 
will be facilitated by a colonial policy. 

'Fourth— That there is no honorable retreat from 
the position which the nation has taken. 

"The first argument is addressed to the nation's 
pride, and the second to the nation's pocket-book. The 
third is intended for the church member and the fourth 
for the partisan. 

'It is a sufficient answer to the first argument to say 
that for more than a century this nation has been a 
world Power. I would not exchange the glory of this 
republic for the glory of all the empires that have 
risen and fallen since time began. 

"The commercial argument is based upon the theory 
that war can be rightly waged for pecuniary advantage 
and that it is profitable to purchase trade by force and 
violence. I oppose the sordid doctrine that would 
put a price on the life of an American soldier. The 
Democratic party is in favor of the expansion of trades 
It would extend our trade by every legitimate and 
peaceful means, but it is not willing to make mer- 
chandise of human blood. A harbor and coaling 
station in the Philippines would answer every trade 
and military necessity. 

fi UJt 'm 110 ? necessary to own people to trade with 
tliem. lrade cannot be permanently profitable unless 
it is voluntary. When trade is secured by force the 



14 W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

cost of securing it and retaining it must be taken out 
of the profits. 

"Imperialism would be profitable to the army con- 
tractors ; it would be profitable to the ship owners 
who would carry live soldiers to the Philippines and 
bring dead soldiers back ; it would be profitable to 
those who would seize upon the franchises, and it 
would be profitable to the officials, whose salaries 
would be fixed here and paid over there, but to the 
farmer, to the laboring man and to the vast majority 
of those engaged in other occupations it would bring 
expenditure without return and risk without reward. 

" The religious argument varies in positiveness from 
a passive belief that Providence delivered the Filipinos 
into our hands for their good and our glory, to the 
exultation of the minister who said that we ought to 
' thrash the natives (Filipinos) until they understand 
who we are,' and that * every bullet sent, every can- 
non shot and every flag waved means righteousness.' 

"We cannot approve this doctrine in one place un- 
less we are willing to apply it everywhere. If there 
is poison in the blood of the hand it will ultimately 
reach the heart. It is equally true that forcible Chris- 
tianity, if planted under the American flag in the far 
away Orient, will sooner or later be transplanted upon 
American soil. 

"If true Christianity consists in carrying out in our 
daily lives the teachings of Christ, who will say that 
we are commanded to civilize with dynamite and pro- 
selyte with the sword? He who would declare the 
Divine Will must prove his authority, either by Holy 
Writ or by evidence of a special dispensation. 

"L,et it be known that our missionaries are seeking 
souls instead of sovereignty and the welcome given to 
our missionaries will be more cordial than the welcome 
extended to the missionaries of any other nation. 

"The argument, made by some, that it was unfor- 
tunate for the nation that it had anything to do with 






W. J. BRYAN'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 15 

the Philippine Islands, but that the naval victory at 
Manila made the permanent acquisition of those islands 
necessary, is also unsound. We won a naval victory 
at Santiago, but that did not compel us to hold Cuba. 

''There is an easy, honest, honorable solution of the 
Philippine question. It is set forth in the Democratic 
platform, and it is submitted with confidence to the 
American people. This plan I unreservedly indorse. 
If elected I shall convene Congress in extraordinary 
session as soon as I am inaugurated and recommend an 
immediate declaration of the nation's purpose — first, 
to establish a stable form of government in the Phil- 
ippine Islands, just as we are now establishing a stable 
form of government in the island of Cuba ; second, to 
give independence to the Filipinos, just as we have 
promised to give independence to the Cubans ; third, 
to protect the Filipinos from outside interference while 
they work out their destiny, just as we have protected 
the republics of Central and South America, and are, 
by the Monroe Doctrine, pledged to protect Cuba." 

Mr. Bryan declared that since we do not desire to 
make the Filipinos a p- ,t of us, the alternative is to 
give them independence' and guard them against mo- 
lestation. 

Then he said:— "When our opponents are unable 
to defend their argument by argument they fall back 
upon the assertion that it is destiny and insist that we 
must submit to it, no matter how much it violator- 
moral precepts and our principles of government. This 
is a complacent philosophy. It obliterates the distinc- 
tion between right and wrong and makes individuals 
and nations the helpless victims of circumstances. 

"Destiny is the subterfuge of the invertebrate, who, 
lacking the courage to oppose error, seeks some plaus- 
ible excuse for supporting it. Washington said that 
the destiny of the republican form of government was 
deeply, if not finally, staked on the experiment in- 
trusted to the American people. How different Wash- 



16 STEVENSON'S LETTEK OF ACCEPTANCE. 

ington's definition of destiny from the Republican de- 
finition ! The Republicans say that this nation is in 
the hands of destiny; Washington believed that not 
only the destiny of our own nation, but the destiny 
of the republican form of government throughout the 
world was intrusted to American hands. Washington 
was right. The destiny of this Republic is in the 
hands of its own people, and upon the success of the 
experiment here rest the hopes of humanity." 



HON. ADLAI E. STEVENSON'S LETTER OP 

ACCEPTANCE. 

At Indianapolis on August 8th, Hon. Adlai E. 
Stevenson was notified of his nomination by the 
Democratic party for the Vice Presidency. Mr. Stev- 
enson accepted the nomination in a brief letter which 
followed the main lines of Mr. Bryan's letter of ac- 
ceptance. He said: "I am profoundly grateful for 
the honor conferred upon me by my selection by the 
National Democratic Convention as its candidate for 
the high office of Vice President" of the United States. 
For the complimentary manner in which such action 
has been officially made known to me I express to 
you, Mr. Chairman, and to your honored associates of 
the committee, my sincere thanks. 
^ u Deeply impressed with a sense of the responsi- 
bility assumed by such candidacy, I accept the nomi- 
nation so generously tendered me. Should the action 
of the convention meet the approval of the people in 
November, it will be my earnest endeavor to dis- 
charge with fidelity the duties of the great office. 

" It is wisely provided by the Constitution that at 
stated times political power shall return to the hands 
of the people. The struggle for political supremacy, 
upon which we are now entering is one of deep mo- 
ment to the American people. Its supreme importance 



STEVENSON'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 17 

to all conditions of our countrymen cannot be meas- 
ured by words. The ills resulting from unjust legis- 
lation and from unwise administration of the govern- 
ment must find their remedy in the all-potent ballot. 
To it we now make our solemn appeal. 

L The chief purpose of the great convention whose 
representatives are before me was redress for existing 
wrongs and security against perils yet greater which 
menace popular government. Your convention, in 
language clear and unmistakable, has presented the 
vital issues upon which the pending contest is to be 
determined. To its platform I give my earnest 
assent." 

Of the various issues upon the Kansas City plat- 
form Mr. Stevenson said: 

'Clearly and unequivocally the Democratic con- 
vention has expressed its sympathy with the Burgers 
of the South African republics in their heroic attempt 
to maintain free government. In this the convention 
not only voiced the sentiments of American Demo- 
crats, but of liberty-loving men everywhere. It is not 
strange that those who have kept the political faith 
of the author of the Declaration of Independence 
should express their abhorrence at the effort of a great 
European power to subjugate a people whose only 
crime is a death struggle to maintain their liberties. 
The earnest utterances of the convention, that our 
sympathies are with the Boers in their unequal strug- 
gle, meets a hearty response from all who venerate the 
principles of our fathers. 

"Is it not true that in all the past a belief in the 
inalienable rights of all peoples has been with us a 
living faith ? That our sympathy has ever been with 
the oppressed, with those who are struggling for a 
larger measure of freedom— for self-government? For 
this reason our government was among the first to 
extend recognition to the republics of France and 
Mexico, prompt to extend our sympathy, as well as 



18 STEVENSON'S LETTEB OF ACCEPTANCE. 

official recognition, to the little South American 
States on their escape from the despotism of Spain and 
upon their efforts to establish for themselves repre- 
sentative governments fashioned after our own. His- 
tory has but repeated itself, and the struggle to main- 
tain free government — a century and a quarter after 
the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence 
— has been transferred from the new world to the old. 
u Is it to be wondered, then, that the political disci- 
ples of Jefferson should express their sympathy for the 
oppressed republics of South Africa? Only those who 
believe that our own country has outgrown the doc- 
trines of the fathers are in sympathy with England's 
attempt to establish monarchy upon the ruins of 

republics. 

' ' The lavish appropriations by the present Repub- 
lican Congress should challenge the attention of all 
thoughtful men. Subsidy bills and all unnecessary 
taxes are condemned by our platform. The accumu- 
lation of surplus revenues is too often the pretext for 
wasteful appropriations of the public money. The 
millions of surplus now accumulating in the Treasury 
should remain in the pockets of the people^ To this 
end the Democratic party demands a reduction of war 
taxes to the actual needs of the government, and a 
return to the policy of strict economy in all govern- 
mental expenditures. 

u In apt words the Dingley tariff law is condemned. 
It is tersely characterized as legislation skillfully 
devised in the interest of a class, and to impose upon 
the many burdens which they should not bear. Ad- 
hering to the time-honored doctrine of the Democratic 
party, we oppose all tariff legislation the necessary 
consequence of which is, at the expense of the con- 
sumer, to secure unjust advantage to the favored few. 
Experience has demonstrated that unjust tariff laws 
have deprived the government of needed revenues, 
secured to favored beneficiaries colossal fortunes, and 



STEVENSON'S LETTEK OF ACCEPTANCE. 19 

largely increased to the people the cost of the necessa- 
ries of life. 

"The imperative necessity for a remedy being con^ 
ceded, the question arises : Into whose hands shall be 
committed the work of formulating laws looking to 
the suppression of trusts ? To whom shall be in 
trusted the execution of such laws? Shall it be to 
the victims or to the beneficiaries of the overshadow- 
ing evil ? If to the latter, then a further lease o'L 
power to the present administration is all that is 
needed. Can any sane man believe that the trust 
evil is one that will cure itself, or that its destruction 
will be compassed by those to whom it has brought 
princely fortunes? If so, let him point to a single 
honest attempt of Republican officials to enforce the 
law now upon our statute books against the most 
stupendous commercial evil known to any period of 
our history. The Democratic party stands pledged 
to an unceasing warfare against private monopoly in 
every form. 

" Our platform favors the creation of a Department 
of Labor, whose chief officers shall take rank with 
other constitutional advisers of the President. This 
is in the interest of justice and will prove an important 
step looking to the proper recognition and encourage- 
ment of the producers of wealth. 

" In explicit terms it favors liberal pensions to our 
soldiers and sailors and to those dependent upon them. 

"With equal justice, it reiterates the demands of a 
former Democratic platform for bimetalism ; the re- 
storation of silver to its proper function in our mone- 
tary system. 

" For the protection of the home laborer it demands 
the enforcement of the Chinese exclusion act. 

"And in the interest of an enlarged commerce it 
favors the immediate construction of the Nicaraguan 
canal ; this, however, with the provision that it shall 
remain forever under the exclusive ownership and 






20 STEVENSON'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

* 

control of the United States. The pending Hay- 
Pauncefote treaty is condemned as a surrender of 
American rights, not to be tolerated by the American 
people. In the construction and control of this great 
work there can be no concession of right to any Euro- 
pean power ; commercial interest and national safety 
in time of war alike demand its permanent ownership 
by our government. 

"The Democratic platform condemns the policy 
pursued by the present administration toward the 
Philippine Islands. This policy — inspired by the 
great spirit of commercialism — has embroiled our 
government in an unnecessary war> sacrificed valua- 
ble lives, and placed the American republic in deadly 
antagonism to our former allies in their efforts to 
secure their liberties. For the first time in our his- 
tory we are boldly confronted with the question of 
imperialism — the spirit of empire. 

"This is indeed the supreme question to which all 
others are of secondary importance. Before we break 
irrevocably with the past, and abandon the doctrines 
of the fathers, it is well that we deliberate upon the 
consequences of a permanent departure from the set- 
tled government policy of more than a century. The 
success of the imperialistic policy foreshadowed the 
empire. Shall the closing hours of the century wit- 
ness the American people abandoning the sure path- 
way in which past generations have formed prosperity 
and happiness, and embarking upon that of aggression 
and conquest, against which we are warned by the 
wrecks that lie along the entire pathway of history. 

" Can it be that the new policy of forcible annexa- 
tion of distant islands finds precedent in the historic 
events I have mentioned ? The answer is found in 
the bare statement of facts. The territory acquired 
under Democratic administration is contiguous — the 
Philippine Islands 8,000 miles distant. The acquisi- 
tion of territory upon our own continent added little 



STEVENSON'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 21 

to the national expanse — to maintain permanent sov- 
ereignty over the distant islands necessitates immense 
expenditures upon our army and navy. More than 
that, it centemplates methods of administration that 
pertain not to the republic, but to the empire. Can 
it be doubted that the attempt to stifle the spirit of 
liberty abroad will imperil popular government at 
home. 

"As a necessary corollary to imperialism will come 
the immense standing army. The dread hand of mili- 
tarism will be felt in the new world as it is in the old. 
The strong arm of power will be substituted for the 
peaceable agencies which for more than a century 
have made our people contented and happy. It was 
Jefferson who said : ' A well-disciplined militia— our 
best reliance in peace and for the first moments of 
war.' True, at the beginning of the century with a 
few millions of population, no less true at the close, 
as we stand in the forefront of the. nations, with a 
population of eighty millions. The result of our re- 
cent conflict with Spain gives emphasis to the pro- 
phetic words of Jefferson. Existing conditions in 
Continental Europe— entailing taxation and misery 
to the verge of human endurance — illustrate by sad 
object lessons the inevitable result of large standing 
armies in time of peace. 

" Shall we still give heed to the warning of the great 
sage of the Revolution, or enter upon a new century 
with European monarchies as our model? Without 
a large standing army, but relying upon the patriot- 
ism and courage of American manhood we were vic- 
torious in the second war with Great Britain, with 
Mexico, in the great civil strife and with Spain. In 
the light of history can it be possible that the Ameri- 
can people will consent to the permanent establish- 
ment of a large standing army and its consequent con- 
tinning and ever-increasing burden of taxation? 

"We stand one hundred years from the hour when 
11 D 



22 STEVENSON'S LETTEE OF ACCEPTANCE. 

the political forces were gathering which were to re- 
sult in the election of the first Democratic President. 
The anniversary of the masterful day in our history 
was wisely chosen for the assembling in convention 
of the representatives of the historic party whose 
founder was Jackson — and whose platform is the De- 
claration of Independence. In the great struggle now 
upon us we invoke the co-operation of all who revere 
the memory of our fathers, and to whom this Decla- 
ration is not unmeaning parchment — but the endur- 
ing chart of our liberties. Upon the supreme issues 
now in the forefront— and to the end that Republican 
government be perpetuated— we appeal to the sober 
judgment and patriotism of the American people." 






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